Pearl Saves the Future
by Professor Snaglefoompus
Summary: Pearl Fey goes back in time, on a mission to prevent the "Phoenix is disbarred and becomes a hobo" timeline from occurring. She then begins a second mission: get Phoenix and Maya to start dating.
1. A Strange Visitor

**Pearl Saves the Future**

It was late at night, and Phoenix and Maya were alone on the couch in his apartment.

Phoenix thought they wouldn't have their usual Friday Night Movie this week after the whole business with Dahlia, but Maya insisted that she needed it, so they had to rush out and get a movie at the last minute.

Maya snuggled up close to Phoenix under the blanket and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Maya..." Phoenix said, feeling a little awkward at how close she was. "You know, if Pearl ever saw us like this, she'd never let it go."

"I don't care," Maya said sleepily, closing her eyes and hugging his side. "After all that happened this week, I just want to relax with my movie and my Nick..."

_**My**__ Nick?_ Phoenix wondered. _When did I become one of her possessions?_

But he patted Maya on the head nonetheless. She had had a hard week, after all. They all had.

The nice moment was spoiled when someone knocked on the door rather insistently.

"I'll get that!" Phoenix said, getting up and pausing the movie.

"Aw..." Maya said.

Phoenix went to the door and opened to see who was knocking. It was a girl with brown hair and a top knot. She looked like a college student.

"Ema?" Phoenix asked.

But even as he said it, he knew that wasn't Ema Skye. She was wearing different clothing. Her clothes were more similar to Maya's than Ema's.

"Mr. Nick!" the girl said. "Are you still a lawyer?"

Phoenix was taken aback at that question. "Um...yes. Do you need legal help?"

"Thank God!" the girl said, hugging him. "I'm not too late! _I'm not too late!_"

"Who is it?" Maya called from the couch. "Is it Edgeworth?"

"No," Phoenix called back to Maya. Then he turned to the strange girl. "Who are you?"

"Don't you recognize me?" the girl asked. "Well...I suppose you wouldn't. I'm Pearl, Pearl Fey. I came here from the future."

"The future?"

"The future is horrible!" Pearl cried. "Nick, you get disbarred and become a hobo! And worst of all, you never talk to me or Maya ever again!"

"_What?_"

"I know! It's been eight years since I last saw you! I heard that you run an illegal poker gambling operation while posing as a piano player! And your daughter puts on public performances, doing tricks with her panties! It's—"

"Listen, I don't know who you are or why you're doing this," Phoenix said. "But you're ruining my night off with my legal assistant. Please leave now."

Pearl's eyes lit up. "You and Mystic Maya are spending the night together? I _knew_ it! Even when I was a little girl, I knew it!"

"_Out!_" Phoenix demanded, shoving the obviously crazy-or-drunk girl out of his apartment.

Phoenix went back to the couch and sat down next to Maya.

"Who was it?" Maya asked.

"Some crazy person pretending to be Pearl from the future."

"Really? That's..."

"Weird, I know. Maybe Larry's trying to play a joke on us. Want to get back to the movie?"

"Sure."

* * *

Phoenix forgot about the crazy girl until the next day, when he left the apartment with Maya. The girl was still there, as if she hadn't left the hallway all night.

"Mr. Nick! Mystic Maya!" Pearl cried. "Wow, you look so _young!_"

"Thanks!" Maya said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Pearl from the future! I'm here to warn you about—"

"Please leave us alone," Phoenix said.

"I'm telling the truth! You have to believe me!" Pearl begged. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but I can _prove_ it! I have evidence! Take that!"

Pearl took an old newspaper out of a small bag she had with her. The date on the newspaper was still a few months away.

"So you faked the date on a newspaper," Phoenix said dismissively. "Big deal."

"Nick...look at the headline," Maya said.

..

**Prominent Lawyer Disbarred for Falsifying Evidence**

_Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright had his lawyer's badge taken away yesterday when it was proven that he was using false evidence in an attempt to gain victory for his client at any cost. An anonymous source tipped off the prosecution that Wright could be using illegal tactics to support his cause, and because of this, they were able to catch him in the act._

_"I always had my suspicions about Phoenix Wright," said Prosecutor Franziska von Karma in a statement to the press. "The man is a foolish fool, and I found it highly unlikely that he could win a single case. Now that it has been revealed he uses illegal evidence, the reasons for his winning streak have become clear."_

_Phoenix's friends, however, insist that he is still innocent. "I'll never believe Nick would break the law," said Maya Fey, the legal assistant at Wright & Co. Law Offices. "Never never never. As soon as he comes back from wherever he is, we're going to prove that he's innocent."_

..

"We never saw him again after that," Pearl said, sadly. "That's why I came here from the future! I have to stop this from happening!"

"Okay," Phoenix said. "So you have a newspaper. This doesn't prove you're from the future. This could still be all a trick!"

"I've got more proof!" Pearl said. "Look!"

She reached into the bag again and pulled out a Magatama.

"This is your Magatama," Pearl said. "The one Mystic Maya gave you. You left it behind when you disappeared from our lives. You'd never give it up unless you stopped being a lawyer, right? That proves you _did_ get disbarred!"

"Well...I...it looks just like any other Magatama!" Phoenix said. "Maya, what do you think?"

"I'm sorry," Maya said. "This is just too hard to believe. Nick wouldn't break the law and abandon his friends."

"I'm not giving up," Pearl promised. "I'll go back and get all the stuff I left in my room. The only other thing I have with me here now is...well, it's not evidence, but when Mystic Maya heard I was going to the past, she insisted that I give this to her younger self."

It was the Steel Samurai Seasons Eight Through Twelve DVD Box Set.

"But they haven't even finished making Season Six yet!" Maya cried. "Nick, this proves it! She _is_ from the future!"

"What?" Phoenix asked.

"Pearl! You're all grown up!" Maya said, hugging her cousin. "And you've got a fabulous new hairdo! That top knot looks great on you!"

"You like it? I wanted it to look like the one you used to have," Pearl said.

"It's great! Why did I change my hairdo?"

"Once you became the Master of Kurain, you decided—"

"Excuse me!" Phoenix interrupted. "When did we decide that this girl is Pearl from the future and not just some crazy person?"

"There's no way she could have these things unless she's from the future," Maya said. "I say we trust her."

"What if these things are as fake as the evidence she's accusing me of presenting?" Phoenix asked. "This could still be some kind of trick."

"Ask her something only Pearl would know," Maya suggested.

"Like what?" Phoenix said.

"I know!" Pearl said. "You and I have a secret! When you first came to Kurain, you found out that I broke Mystic Ami's vase with a rubber ball and tried to fix it with glue. I never told anyone about that."

"You did _what?_" Maya asked. "Pearl!"

Phoenix scratched his head. _He_ never told anybody about that either. Well, he may have alluded to it in court during Ron DeLite's trial, but...

"Okay, fine. Let's hear her out," he said.

* * *

Many hours (and a few phone calls to the _real_ Pearl) later, Phoenix was convinced. This woman was either Pearl from the future, or a very talented con artist with a weird agenda.

"So how do I avoid becoming a piano bum?" Phoenix asked.

"Don't take the Zak Gramarye case," Pearl said. "Kristoph Gavin gets mad when you get the case instead of him, which is why he framed you."

"Okay, I promise I won't have anything to do with Zak Gramarye or Kristoph Gavin. What else?"

"Actually, we should probably tell the police about Gavin's plot to kill the Mishams, too..." Pearl said, tapping her bottom lip with her finger.

"But is that everything?"

Maya screamed.

"What is it?" Phoenix asked, alarmed.

"Look!" Maya said, pointing at the newspaper article Pearl had brought. "It changed! Just like in that movie we saw!"

..

**Prominent Lawyer Disbarred for Falsified Evidence**

_Attorney Kristoph Gavin had his lawyer's badge taken away yesterday when it was proven that he was using false evidence in an attempt to gain victory for his client at any cost. An anonymous source tipped off the prosecution that Gavin could be using illegal tactics to support his cause, and because of this, they were able to catch him in the act._

_The source further implicated Gavin in the attempted murder of artist Vera Misham, who provided Gavin with the false evidence, not knowing he intended to use it in court. Police reports confirmed that poison was found in the Mishams' apartment and it was safely removed. Police reports also suggest the investigation and subsequent trial could be completed within a month._

_Meanwhile, the High Prosecutor's Office has yet to confirm a date for the re-trial of Zak Gramayre._

..

"YES!" Pearl cried. "I did it! I saved the future!"

* * *

Pearl stayed with Phoenix and Maya after these events. She was a big help around the office because she was a third-year law student, and one day they went to Kurain where she became great friends with her younger self.

After a week, however, Phoenix felt he had to ask Pearl why she didn't return to her own timeline.

"I can't," Pearl said. "I changed the future, so that means I can't go back to the future I came from. Right?"

"I don't know how time travel works," Phoenix said.

"I do!" Maya said. "That was the premise of Steel Samurai Season Four, when Mirai Trunks came to warn about the upcoming zombie skeleton attack!"

"I don't think the Steel Samurai is going to help us here," Phoenix said.

Maya looked disappointed.

"Well, the newspaper from the future changed," Pearl said. "My laptop changed, too—it's got a bunch of files I didn't have before. I'm pretty sure that if I went ten years in the future, I'd go back to the new future of _this _time, not the time I came from."

"Well, if the future changed, what are you going to do now?" Phoenix asked.

"I was actually thinking of staying here, if that's okay. Maybe I could take the bar exam and get a job here at the office."

"That'd be perfect!" Maya said.

Phoenix agreed, and he immediately offered Pearl a job. At that time, he didn't realize that having two Pearls around would be hazardous to his love life, but that's another story.


	2. The Phoenix Edgeworth No Dating Brigade

The two Pearls were having a secret meeting of the "Get Mr. Nick And Mystic Maya To Start Dating" Club, but neither of them could think of a particularly good plan.

"The problem is that they'll ignore any suggestions if it comes from one of us," Older Pearl was explaining. "If only there was someone who could help..."

"What about Larry Butz?" Younger Pearl asked.

"Who?"

"He's Mr. Nick's friend who's always talking about girls. Maybe he could tell Mr. Nick how to deal with Mystic Maya?"

"Always talking about girls, huh?" Pearl said, thoughtfully. "I don't remember him. Does he spend a lot of time with Nick?"

"I don't think Mr. Nick likes him very much," Younger Pearl said.

"Huh," Pearl said. "He might be useful. Tell me more about him..."

* * *

**A few days later...**

Phoenix checked his watch. He still had a lot of work to do, and not enough time to do it in. It was time to do what all good bosses do—delegate.

"I've got some forms that need to be dropped off at the Prosecutor's Office," he announced. "Anybody want to do it?"

"No way," said Maya.

"I will," Pearl said. "But only if I don't have to come back here afterwards."

"Deal," Phoenix said, giving her the forms. "Why don't you want to come back?"

"I have a date tonight," Pearl said. "I was hoping to get off work early to prepare."

Pearl? Date? The two elements did not mix in Phoenix's mind.

"Oh...that's...great," Maya said, her voice betraying the fact that she wasn't happy about the idea of Pearl dating either. "Who with?

"Oh, you probably don't know him," Pearl said. "He's this really cute guy I met the other day called Larry Butz. See ya!"

As she shut the door behind her, she could hear Phoenix yell, "_Larry?_ _Pearl!_"

* * *

Pearl smiled to herself. She could hear Nick yelling as she walked down the hallway.

She didn't _really_ have a date with Larry, of course. It was just a trick to get Nick and Maya to start talking about dating.

With any luck, Pearl could turn the conversation about dating into a discussion on what an ideal relationship looked like. And once she knew what Nick and Maya were looking for in a relationship...

...She would use that knowledge against them. It was a foolproof plan!

* * *

"She can't go out with Larry! She _can't!_" Phoenix cried, storming around the office.

"I don't like to think about Pearl going out with boys either," Maya sighed. "But I guess we can't do anything about it."

"Sure we can do something about it!" Phoenix said. "We could try forbidding Pearl from seeing anyone. What do you think?"

"I dunno..." Maya said. "To be honest, the whole Pearl-from-the-future thing is a little too weird for me. I'm only used to normal stuff like spirit channeling."

"Right," Phoenix agreed. "Saying Pearl can go out with anyone she wants is like saying _you_ can go out with anyone you want!"

"What?" Maya asked. "Since when can't I go out with anyone I want?"

"Since..." Phoenix scratched his head.

Now, it is a little-known fact, but every man has an unofficial list of girls who are not allowed to go out with any boys, ever. Normally, this list is reserved for little sisters and daughters, but in Phoenix's case, Maya and Pearl had both made the list.

"Since...you started working here at the office!" Phoenix said, inventing wildly. "Yeah! I'll make it a rule that no one in the office can go out on dates! And since Pearl works here, she won't be able to go out with Larry!"

Maya smiled. "You're being silly, Nick. You know I went out with the guy I met at the Steel Samurai Convention last month, right?"

"You _what?_" Phoenix asked. He had most certainly _not_ heard about this. "You went out with a Steel Samurai nerd?"

"Don't say that!" Maya said defensively. "Just because we like to dress up like Steel Samurai characters and go to fan conventions and reenact all our favorite scenes from the show does _not_ mean we're nerds!"

"Um...right..." Phoenix said.

"I guess he was kind of a nerd, though," Maya said. "When he stopped pretending to be the Steel Samurai, he turned out to be a lot less cooler than I thought."

_Gee, I can't imagine why..._ Phoenix thought.

"Still, what do we do about Pearl?" Phoenix said. "I don't think she—or any other woman, for that matter—should be going out with Larry."

"We can talk to her about it when she gets back," Maya said, sensibly.

Phoenix frowned. But Pearl _wasn't_ coming back to the office that day...

* * *

Pearl made it to the Prosecutors' Office without any problems whatsoever. She found the office belong to Miles Edgeworth, and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Edgeworth said.

Pearl entered. Edgeworth was talking with a blue-haired woman who Pearl vaguely remembered as a really mean prosecutor.

"Yes?"

"I have some forms here from Phoenix Wright," she said, holding them up. "I'm his new legal assistant, so he asked me to drop them off for him."

"Thank you," Edgeworth said politely. "I did not know Wright had hired another assistant. Are you going to replace Miss Fey?"

"Oh, no," Pearl said. "Maya's more of an...unofficial assistant. I joined the Wright firm because I want to get some legal experience before becoming a lawyer myself."

"Not a foolish defense attorney, I hope," Franziska von Karma said.

"Well...yes, I _do_ want to be a defense attorney," Pearl said.

Franziska scoffed. Edgeworth cast a disapproving glance at her.

"Wright is an excellent attorney, even if he is a tad...unconventional," Edgeworth said. "I'm sure you'll learn a lot from him, Miss...?"

"Fey. My name is Pearl Fey."

"Any relation to the Pearl Fey who sometimes spends time with Wright?"

"I'm her older sister," Pearl lied. She couldn't tell people that she was the future version of Pearl Fey, after all.

"Your parents named both of their daughters Pearl?" Franziska asked.

"...My mother has a strange sense of humor," Pearl said.

"I can see the family resemblance," Edgeworth said. "Well, Miss Fey, thank you very much for dropping off the D-45 forms. I have a D-46 form here that Wright will need to fill out as well. You can take it with you when you return to his office."

Pearl grinned. If the younger Pearl was correct, Mr. Edgeworth knew (and disliked) Larry Butz, too. She could have some fun with this.

"I won't be able to bring any forms to Mr. Wright today," Pearl said. "I have a date tonight, so he said I could take the rest of the day off after this."

Franziska half-smiled. "And Phoenix Wright makes a habit of letting his employees leave work early for dates?"

"Well, Mr. Wright is the one who set me up on this date. It's with one of his friends."

Franziska cast a look at Edgeworth, as if he already knew about this. "Who is it?" she demanded.

"I don't keep a registry of all of Wright's acquaintances," Edgeworth said, haughtily.

"Oh, you probably don't know him," Pearl said. "His name is Larry Butz. See you, Mr. Edgeworth!"

Pearl slipped out of the office before the two prosecutors could react.

"_What?_ Wright set his assistant up with..._Larry?_"

A whip snapped. "The fool!"

* * *

"Fey and Wright Law Offices, how may I help you?"

"Maya, I've told you a hundred times, it's the _Wright and_ _Co._ Law Offices."

"Fey and Wright sounds better."

"No, it doesn't, and even if that _was_ the name of the company, it would be _Wright and Fey_ Law Offices, not _Fey and Wright_ Law Offices."

"I answered the phone, so my name comes first!"

"Are you two quite finished? I need to speak with Wright."

"It's Edgeworth," Maya said.

"Hurry up, fool!"

"And Franziska."

"Uh oh," Phoenix gulped. He picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Wright! What's this I hear about your assistant going on a date with Larry Butz?"

"Fool!"

"You have _met_ Larry before, correct? How could you let your assistant _do_ something like that?"

"You are the most foolish fool in—!"

"Franziska, get off the line!"

"I will not!"

"Wright, I really—"

"Look, Edgeworth, Maya and I aren't happy about it either," Phoenix said. "But we figured there's nothing we could do, so—"

"Nothing you can do? Did you think about _cancelling the date?_"

"No, I—"

"Date? What date, pal?"

"Detective Gumshoe?" Maya asked. "Is that you?"

"Yeah! The phone in my office is broken, so sometimes when I have to make phone calls, I use the phone in Miss Von Karma's office when she's not there."

"You scruffy fool! Get out of my office!"

"Augh! I...I..."

Edgeworth sighed into the phone. "Will you two please get off the party line? I'm _trying_ to have a discussion with Wright."

"Sure thing, pal! I'll be leaving now..."

"Oh no, you won't! I'll teach you not to use my office equipment when I'm not around!"

"No! I didn't mean—!"

There was a click as Detective Gumshoe hung up the phone and tried to run away from the office before Franziska could return.

"I apologize for that," Edgeworth said. "Sometimes those two make it difficult to work."

"That's okay, Edgeworth," Phoenix said. "I know what it's like to have a partner who goofs around a lot."

"Hey!" Maya said.

"So what were you saying?"

"I was saying that allowing your assistant to date Larry is the most ridiculous idea you've ever come up with," Edgeworth said. "That man is not capable of handling a mature relationship, and if you won't do anything about it, _I_ will."

"I agree completely," Phoenix said. "What do we do?"

"We cancel Miss Fey's date, and for good measure, inform her to stay away from Larry."

"You two are being way too bossy," Maya noted. Neither Phoenix or Edgeworth paid her any heed.

"She said she'd go to her apartment," Phoenix said. "We can intercept her there."

"Excellent. I will call Larry."

* * *

"Yello?"

"Larry, it's Miles."

"Edgey! Haven't heard from you in a while, man! What's up?"

"I am calling to inform that your date tonight with Wright's assistant Miss Fey has been cancelled. Do _not_ show up."

"Huh?" Larry asked.

"Good day."

Edgeworth hung up.

Larry scratched his head, trying to make sense of the phone call. Something about a date, and Fey and...Nick? Wait, yeah! Nick! He worked with that Fey girl!

"Cool, I didn't know I had a date with Maya tonight!" Larry said. "I'd better get ready!"

* * *

By the time Pearl got to her apartment, she found two very grumpy attorneys waiting for her.

"Mr. Nick? Mr. Edgeworth? What are you doing here?"

"We are here to inform that your date tonight with Mr. Butz has been cancelled."

"And you're grounded," Phoenix added.

"What?" Pearl asked.

"Under no circumstances should you or any other woman be allowed to date Larry Butz."

"He's a total womanizer! He'll try to—you know—"

"He will act in a completely inappropriate manner."

"You have to stay away from him!"

"I made a list of important tips to follow when pursuing possible relationships," Edgeworth said. "I suggest that we sit down and discuss them immediately."

"Ooo, good idea!" Phoenix said. "Let me see that list, Edgeworth!"

Pearl paled. This was _not_ what she had in mind when she decided to fool Nick. She was hoping to get Nick and Maya together, not hoping to be attacked by the Phoenix/Edgeworth No Dating Brigade.

Apparently, there was a flaw in her foolproof plan. It was time to come clean.

"Hold it!" Pearl cried. "You guys, I'm not _really _going out on a date with Larry tonight!"

"Huh?"

"You're not?"

"No! I made that up so I could get off work early!"

A brief silence followed her words.

"You _lied_ to us?" Edgeworth asked.

"You're double-grounded!" Phoenix said. "And the first rule of being grounded is no more dates!"

"You _do_ know you can't ground me, right?" Pearl said. "I'm an adult."

"Well...I can try!" Phoenix said.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Pearl said. "It was a joke, really. I don't even know Larry."

"Oh..." Phoenix said, scratching the back of his neck and grinning stupidly. "Well..._of course_ I knew it was a joke the whole time! I was just playing along!"

"Don't lie, Wright," Edgeworth said. "Well, Miss Fey, we appear to have acted in haste. My apologies."

"No, _I'm_ sorry," Pearl said. "I didn't want to waste your time. But it's sweet that you two care so much about me, especially when you just met me today, Mr. Edgeworth."

"Yes, well...I try to help people whenever I can. Now if you'll excuse me, I have business to take care of back at my office."

"We'd better head back to the office, too," Phoenix said.

"But you gave me the rest of the day off!" Pearl complained.

"No date, no day off," Phoenix said. "In fact, I think you might have to work late today, thanks to all the time you wasted..."

"Aw..." Pearl said, disappointed.

* * *

Larry Butz crashed in through the door of Wright & Co. Law Offices shortly after these events. "Maya! What's up?" he asked.

"Oh, hey, Larry!" Maya said. "Nick isn't here right now."

"So where do you want to go for our date?"

"Date?" Maya asked. "Aren't you—?"

"We could go to that new Hawaiian restaurant! It'd be the perfect place to confess our love for each other!"

"_Love?_"

"Your eyes sparkle like the fizz on my cream soda! Your hair falls like the morning rain! Your feet walk like the board of trustees in that bank I worked at! Oh, Maya!"

Larry was now an official resident of La-La Land.

"I haven't felt like this since I met Cindy! You're not a model like her or Laura or Ingrid or Hattie or Paula, but they should totally make a calendar of you, and I'd buy twelve copies—one for every month! We could make it together!"

This was the scene when Phoenix and Pearl returned to the Wright & Co. Law Offices. Larry was dancing around the room, saying ridiculous things, while Maya was cowering behind her desk.

"And we'd swim in a field of cauliflower! Dance by the light of the moon! Maybe we'd get matching sweaters!"

"Who the heck is that?" Pearl asked.

"That's Larry Butz," Phoenix said.

"_Oh...._"

"My heart longs for you so much that it's sweating! Kiss me, sweatheart!"

"Pearl! Nick! Help!" Maya cried.

"I'm on it!" Pearl said, rolling up her sleeve and heading towards Larry.

SLAP!

* * *

"The plan didn't work?" Younger Pearl asked, disappointed.

"No. It definitely did _not_ work," Older Pearl confirmed.


	3. Waterfall Meditation and a Court Battle

**Author's Note:** Having two Pearls in the same story can be confusing, so just so you know, whenever I use the name "Pearly", it refers to the younger Pearl.

* * *

The next meeting of the "Get Mister Nick and Mystic Maya To Start Dating" Club took place over the phone.

"If your plan didn't work, that means it's _my_ turn to try a plan!" Pearly said.

"Okay," Older Pearl agreed. "What's your plan?"

Pearl thought for a moment.

"Oh! They had _Romeo and Juliet_ on _Kids Masterpiece Theater_ yesterday! The man said it was the greatest love story ever!"

"Uh huh," Older Pearl said.

"So we need to get Mister Nick and Mystic Maya to be like Romeo and Juliet!"

"But...that story has a horrible ending!" Older Pearl said. "Juliet dies, and then Romeo kills himself because he can't be with her anymore!"

"I don't understand that part," Pearly said. "If Juliet was dead, why didn't he just ask someone to summon her?"

"Um...I don't know."

"See? It's weird!"

"Okay, so your plan is to get Nick and Maya to be like Romeo and Juliet. How are you going to do that?"

Pearl thought about it for a moment. "I can have them do something romantic together?" she guessed.

"Like what?" Older Pearl asked.

"I don't know..." Pearl said.

_Coming up with love plans is __hard_, Pearl thought as she looked around her room. Then she saw a magatama she got from Hazakura, and an idea suddenly came to her.

"I can sign them up for the Couples Course at Hazakura together!" Pearl said.

"Hazakura? The training place in the mountains?"

"Yeah! They can train there together!"

"But Nick doesn't do spiritual training, and that's the place where Mystic Misty—"

"It's perfect!" Pearly said, squealing with joy. "Sister Bikini said she'd let me and Mystic Maya come back for free any time we want! It'd be so romantic!"

"Um...if you say so," Older Pearl said, doubtfully. "Once the weekend starts, I guess we can go there and see about signing them up for something."

"Yay!"

* * *

The next week, Younger Pearl came to LA just so she could tell Maya and Nick the good news in person.

"We have a surprise for you, Mystic Maya!" Pearly said, jumping up and down. "Guess what it is?"

"Is it a double cheeseburger?" Maya asked, excited.

"No!"

"Aw..." Maya said, sounding disappointed.

"It's better than that!" Older Pearl said. "We know you've been busy lately with studying and work, so we're giving you a three-day weekend! We booked you for the ultra special course at Hazakura this Friday!"

"Awesome!" Maya said. "I didn't get to do any training last time I was there!"

"Hold it!" Phoenix cried. "There's no way I'm letting Maya go back to Hazakura by herself! Not after what happened last time!"

"Well, good," Older Pearl said. "We signed you up for training, too."

"What?"

"We knew you'd want to be with your special someone," Pearly said.

"Pearl!" Maya said.

"No way! I won't go!" Phoenix protested. "I can't do spiritual training!"

"First you say you can't let Maya go alone, then you say you can't go with her," Older Pearl said. "Which one is it?"

"I...I...you two planned this!" Phoenix accused.

Maya looked confused. "Um, Earth to Nick? Of _course_ she planned the training trip."

"No, I mean they planned this so we'd have to spend a weekend together!"

"Does that mean you're going?" Older Pearl asked.

Phoenix reflected. "...Yes. I don't think I could let Maya go to Hazakura alone. Not after what happened there last time."

"See?" Younger Pearl asked her older self. "It's just like Romeo and Juliet, only it's RoMaya and Nickiet!"

"Augh!" Phoenix cried, putting a hand to his forehead. Having two Pearls around was beginning to be a bit of a strain on him.

* * *

Phoenix and Maya's unplanned vacation caused some scheduling problems for a certain blue-haired prosecutor.

"But Miss von Karma—!" Detective Gumshoe said.

"_Fool! *whip* I don't care if you like the defendant! *whip whip whip* All the evidence points towards her! *whip whip whip* Write that report NOW! *whip whip whip whip whip whip*"_

"Do stop whipping the good detective so," Edgeworth intervened. "If he's in the hospital, he won't be able to work on the case."

"Thanks, Pal!" Gumshoe said.

Franziska started grumbling about nosy younger brothers, inept detectives and pointy-haired fools.

Edgeworth sighed. "What has Wright done now?"

"That fool Phoenix Wright decided to go on vacation this weekend!" Franziska complained.

"So?"

"Now we have to reschedule Friday's trial, but I can't reschedule because I have a flight back to Germany next Tuesday!"

"How inconvenient of Wright not to plan his vacations according to your schedule."

"Don't patronize me, Miles Edgeworth! International flights are not cheap, as you should know!"

Edgeworth thought for a moment.

"There's no need to reschedule anything," Edgeworth said. "If Wright cannot attend the trial, request that he send his assistant in his place. That way the trial can continue as planned."

"Go up against an amateur instead of Phoenix Wright?" Franziska asked. "I like the sound of that..."

Franziska snapped her whip on a table.

"Scruffy! Go to Phoenix Wright's office and ask Pearl Fey if she can serve as the defense attorney on Friday!"

"Um...Pearl Fey?" Gumshoe asked, scratching his head. "Isn't she a little young, pal?"

"Fool! Age does not matter in the legal profession! I became a prosecutor at age thirteen!"

"Something you mention at least twice a week," Edgeworth said dryly.

"I told you not to patronize me, Miles Edgeworth!"

* * *

Detective Gumshoe didn't always understand his orders, but he always carried them out, even _if_ his orders were to ask a nine-year-old girl to be a lawyer for a day.

Gumshoe found Pearl in a playground with Maya. Oddly enough, Pearl was sitting on a bench, while Maya was playing on a swing set and screaming, "Wheee!".

"Hi, Mr. Scruffy!"

"Hi, Pearl. I've got a question for you, Pal."

"What is it?"

"Well, this is probably going to sound weird, but Miss von Karma wants to know if you could be the defense attorney in the trial this Friday."

"Me, be an attorney?"

"I'm not sure if they let kids be attorneys, but she said you could do it."

"I always wanted to be an attorney like Mister Nick and Mystic Mia and Older Me! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Great, Pal! ...I think."

* * *

**That Friday...**

"The trial of the State VS Maggey Byrde will come to order!" the Judge said, banging his gavel. "Is the prosecution ready?"

"I never come to a trial unprepared, Your Honor," Franziska von Karma said, giving a short bow.

"Is the defense ready?"

No one answered.

"Is the defense ready?" the Judge repeated.

Still, no one answered.

"Dear me! The defense attorney and her client don't seem to be here!"

Franziska frowned. "I know there was a slight change in attorneys, but that should not mean..."

"We're here, Your Honor!" Pearl cried.

Pearl ran into the courtroom. She was dressed in her best lawyer outfit, which contained one of Mia's skirts and one of Mister Nick's ties. She also had a lunchbox full of notes.

Following behind her was Maggey Byrde, who was not too happy to learn about the change in lawyers.

"Oh, hello, little girl," the Judge said, kindly. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm Pearl Fey: Ace Attorney!" Pearl said proudly. "I'm here to be the defend Miss Maggey!"

"You...you are?"

"Objection! I won't stand trial against a grade schooler!"

"Objession! I'm almost ten and really smart for my age!"

"Hmmm...This is most unusual," the Judge said. "I'm not sure what to do..."

The Judge consulted his notes. (Yes, he _does_ have notes).

"Ah, here we go," the Judge said. "I have a signed document here that says Miss von Karma specifically requested for Pearl Fey be the defense attorney today in place of Phoenix Wright, due to extenuating circumstances. That seems clear enough."

Franziska groaned. You know, she was _going _to be a good older sister and thank Edgeworth for his help with the trial...but now she was going to whip him instead. The whole situation was obviously _his_ fault.

"Objection! I didn't mean _this_ Pearl Fey! I meant her sister, Pearl Fey!"

The Judge blinked. "Both sisters have the same name?"

"I don't have a sister, Your Honor," Pearl said.

"You don't?"

Pearl shook her head. She had, of course, forgotten that her older self was pretending to be her older sister.

"Well, then, I guess that settles it," the Judge said. "Pearl Fey, you're the defense attorney today."

"Yay!" Pearl said. "I get to be in court!"

"I'm doomed!" Maggey cried.

* * *

Phoenix shivered as he and Maya walked towards Hazakura.

"Are you cold already?" Maya asked. "We haven't even gotten to the snowy part yet!"

"No, I just have a feeling that something really bad is going to happen," Phoenix said.

"Well, you'll protect me if anyone tries to kill me again," Maya said happily.

_How can she be so cheerful about almost being killed?_ Phoenix wondered.

Sister Bikini met Phoenix and Maya near the bottom of the mountain.

"Welcome back to Hazakura!" Sister Bikini greeted Phoenix and Maya. "It's an honor to have the new Kurain Master grace our halls!"

"I'm not officially the Kurain Master yet, but thanks," Maya said. "Nick's here, too."

"Oh! You're that lawyer who defended Iris in court. So you're Mystic Maya's boyfriend, eh? I should have guessed! Ha ha ha!"

"Wha-what?" Phoenix asked. "I'm not Maya's boyfriend!"

"You're not?" Sister Bikini looked confused. "But you two are signed up for the Couples' Training Course."

"We are?"

"Pearl!" Phoenix said.

"What?" Sister Bikini asked.

"I'm sorry, Sister Bikini," Maya said. "Pearl must have picked out the training. She wants me and Nick to become a couple."

"Oh..." Sister Bikini said. "Well...I guess we have a problem, then."

_I don't like the sound of this..._ Phoenix thought.

"Everything is already set up for the Couples' Training Course this weekend," Sister Bikini said. "I don't think I can set up another training course quickly. Things are a lot slower here without Sister Iris to help me."

"Nick?" Maya asked. "Could you _pretty_ please—?"

"_Maya_, I don't know how to—"

"It's really simple, and I can teach you, and Sister Bikini did all that work..."

"Okay, fine," Phoenix said reluctantly. "I'll help you train, but that doesn't make me your 'special someone'."

"Okay," Maya agreed.

"Excellent, then!" Sister Bikini said. "The first part of the Couples' Training Course takes place here, at the bottom of the mountain. You have to do two hours of meditation while standing under the waterfall."

"All right!" Maya cheered.

"_W-w-waterfall?_" Phoenix asked.

* * *

"I'm back from the store!" Older Pearl said, bringing in some groceries. "Now we can...Pearl? Are you here?"

_That's weird_, Pearl thought to herself. "Maybe she's in her room?"

But the only thing inside Younger Pearl's room was a note.

_Dear Older Me,_

_Mr. Scruffy said I get to be a lawyer today! So I went to the courthouse to defend Miss Maggey._

_-Pearl_

"The Maggey Byrde case?" Pearl gasped. "They can't let a nine-year-old in court! Can they?"

After double-checking all the rooms to make sure Pearly wasn't hiding, Pearl got in her car and drove to the courthouse in hopes of finding her younger self there.

* * *

"Blllbbbgh!" Phoenix cried, wiping water from his mouth. "How are you supposed to do this without drowning?"

"You need to stand in the right position," Maya said. "Let the water pour over the top of your head, not the top of your face."

"My clothes are going to be ruined!"

"Don't be such a baby, Nick. It's only a _little_ waterfall. And besides, the water is warm! It's actually kind of refreshing!"

"What is the _point _of standing under a waterfall for two hours?"

"It's great training for spirit channeling! When you channel someone, you need to separate your spirit from your body. By putting your body under extreme physical discomfort, you test your ability to ignore your body and focus on your spirit."

"Okay," Phoenix said. "I guess that makes sense."

"Everyone is made of two parts: the spiritual part, which some people call the soul, and the physical part, which is made up of your mind and body. When someone dies, her spirit goes up to the other world while her body stays behind. Your goal is to try to duplicate that experience of letting go of the body and being lifted up through the soul."

"You know, you sound really smart right now."

"Thanks," Maya said.

* * *

"Will the prosecution make its opening statement?"

"This case is simplicity itself, Your Honor. Not only does all the evidence point to the defendant, but I have _three_ witnesses that can testify to her guilt."

"That does sound convincing," the Judge said. "Let's bring in the first witness to—"

"Objection!" Pearl cried. "Don't I get to say something?"

Franziska snapped her whip at the young defense lawyer. "Fool! Only the prosecution gets to make an opening statement!"

"WAAAAAAAH!" Pearl cried. "Objection, Your Honor! She hit me with her whip!"

"Miss von Karma! You shouldn't whip little children!" the Judge scolded. "Why, you could seriously injure her!"

"Yeah, you big meanie! You wouldn't like it if I hurt you!"

Franziska laughed. "Just _try_ it, Little Girl!"

With a look of determination on her face, Pearl marched over to the Prosecutor's Bench and gave Franziska a heavy slap across the face.

"Augh! You fool! Taste my whip!"

*Whip!*

*Slap!*

_*Whip!* *Slap!* *Whip!* *Slap!* *Whip!* *Slap!* *Whip!* *Slap!*_

"ORDER! ORDER!" the Judge cried, banging his gavel. "Attorneys, please stop this fighting!"

"I'm sorry, Your Honor," Pearl said.

Franziska was less apologetic. "That was only a demonstration of the power of the law!" she cried. "The foolish criminal will receive his due punishment from my Whip of Justice!"

"And my Slaps of, um, Evidence will, uh, come from the Court Record!"

"Objection! That doesn't make any sense!"

"Yes it does! Mystic Mia always said that the only thing that matters in court is Evidence!"

"No, the only thing that matters is Justice!"

"Evidence!"

"Whip of Justice!"

"Slap of Evidence!"

"Whip of Justice!"

"_Slap of Evidence!_"

All this talk of slapping and whipping, meanwhile, made one person in the courtroom _very_ nervous.

"STOP! STOP! STOOOOOOP!" the first witness screamed. "Your Honor, I confess! I killed the store owner, not Maggey Byrde! I'm the murderer! Arrest me, throw me in jail! Just don't let those two crazy lawyers hurt me!"

"You fool!" Franziska cried, drawing her whip.

"AAAAAAAAA!" the murderer screamed. "I didn't mean to kill him! It was an accident, I swear! Don't whip me! _Don't let her whip me! I can't stand being hurt!_"

* * *

"Maya? Can you hear me?"

"Yes, Nick. What is it?"

"How long have we been doing this?"

"About half an hour, I think."

"My arms feel numb."

"That's a good sign!

"No, I mean, they're _actually_ numb."

"Then do some waterfall exercises."

"Waterfall exercises?"

"Yeah, you know, do jumping jacks or something to get your blood pumping again! I like to practice my Steel Samurai moves!"

Maya stood on one foot while bringing both hands above her heard.

"Do this pose, Nick! It's the Screaming Dragon Pose!"

Phoenix tried to copy Maya's movements. Lifting up your arms while standing under a waterfall is rather difficult, and she was a lot better at it than he was.

"Like this?"

"Close enough! Now say, 'I am the Defender of Justice!' while moving into the Staunch Defense pose!"

"I...I am the defender of justice."

"Louder, Nick!"

"I am the defender of justice!"

"Louder! You want to strike fear into the heart of the Evil Magistrate!"

"I don't know who that is."

"Well, pretend you're in court against Edgeworth, then."

"I'm in court against Edgeworth," Phoenix whispered to himself. "I'm in court against Edgeworth..."

"_I am the Defender of Justice! Criminals beware!_" Phoenix shouted, pointing his finger dramatically.

"That's great, Nick!" Maya said, clapping her hands. "It's not a Steel Samurai pose, but it's still good! Now do a sideways kick like this! Haaaaya!"

"_Take that!_" Phoenix cried, stretching his foot out and spinning around.

It was a nice move, but he accidentally hit the back of Maya's shin, and she fell over.

"Oh no! Maya! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! ...I think."

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that!"

"Don't worry. It was a good first try," Maya said, getting back up. "I think that's enough exercise for now. Let's get back to meditation."

"Er...right," Phoenix agreed.

* * *

"Well, that was...unexpected," the Judge said. "Through the power of cooperation, you got the real criminal to confess."

Franziska pounded her desk angrily. How? How? How could she lose _to a nine-year-old girl? _This was even **worse** than losing to Phoenix Wright!

"Thank you, Your Honor," Pearl said. "But we weren't really cooperating. We were more like fighting."

"Whatever you did, it worked," the Judge said. "And so, now that the real culprit has been found, I declare the defendant, Maggey Byrde NOT GUILTY."

"Yay!"

* * *

Older Pearl found her younger self standing outside of the courtroom.

"Hi, Big Pearl!" Pearl said happily. "Guess what? We won!"

"You did?"

"I can't believe it, sir!" Maggey Byrde said, giving Pearl her best salute. "You were awesome in there! The way you fought with that blue-haired prosecutor! No wonder the criminal confessed!"

"It was most impressive," the Judge said. "I don't think I've ever seen a case get solved so quickly! Perhaps we should let children be attorneys more often!"

Older Pearl was amazed.

"You...you won? All by yourself?"

"Uh huh! Aren't you proud of me?"

"I...I...of _course_ I am! Tell me everything that happened!"

"Well, Mr. Scruffy came to me when I was in the park, and—"

Pearly's story was interrupted by the appearance of a very angry prosecutor.

"_I will get my revenge on you, Pearl Feys!_" Franziska sneered. "_No one makes a fool out of Franziska von Karma!_"


	4. Fired

"Okay, you two! Time's up!" Sister Bikini said.

"_Finally_," Phoenix sighed as he stepped out of the waterfall and dried himself off with one of the towels Sister Bikini had ready for them.

"That was great!" Maya said. "What do we do next?"

"Now you two have to hug each other," Sister Bikini said.

"What?"

"It's part of the Couples' Training."

"Okay..." Phoenix said.

Phoenix and Maya hugged each other. It wasn't too bad—they had done it before.

"The next exercise is a simple one. We're going to walk up the mountain, but you two have to keep hugging each other the whole time."

"We can't go up the mountain and hug each other at the same time," Phoenix complained.

"You can; you just need to work together," Sister Bikini said. "You can't see behind yourself, Mr. Wright, so you need Mystic Maya to tell you where to walk. This exercise is supposed to foster the couple's ability to work together and make them understand how much they need each other."

Phoenix frowned.

"Come on, Nick, don't you like hugs?" Maya asked. "Think of it as...a hiking hug!"

"Um, sure...a hiking hug."

"That's the ticket!" Sister Bikini said. "And to make sure you don't cheat..."

She slapped a pair of handcuffs on Phoenix's hands.

"Hey!" Phoenix protested.

"See you at the top of the mountain!" Sister Bikini said.

* * *

"MILES EDGEWORTH!" Franziska yelled. "Prepare for the whipping of a lifetime!"

"I take it you lost the case," Edgeworth said.

"_You're_ the one who gave me the form which allowed Pearl Fey to appear in court! This is all _your_ fault!"

"Objection," Edgeworth said. "You have no proof of any wrongdoing on my part whatsoever."

"Oh, really? Then why did they send _the wrong Pearl Fey_ to be the lawyer?"

"The wrong Pearl Fey? What do you—?"

"I wanted to have a trial against the Pearl Fey who works for Phoenix Wright!"

"Oh, you mean they sent the _younger_ Pearl Fey? Well, that's certainly not _my_ fault. You should have been more specific when you told Detective Gumshoe..."

Edgeworth stopped suddenly as he made the logical connection between the younger Pearl Fey and Franziska's post-defeat anger.

"Wait, are you saying you went up against a nine-year-old in court, and you _lost?_"

"GRAH!" Franziska shout, cracking her whip against the ceiling.

Edgeworth had to restrain himself from chuckling out loud. He settled for grinning like a child on Christmas.

"_Stop smiling!_" Franziska ordered.

"Well, I suppose this means you won't have a very good chance of winning King of Prosecutors this year!"

"_No making jokes!_"

"My, your trip back to Germany is going to be _fun_, isn't it? 'Hi, Auntie Franziska! What have you been doing in America?' 'Nothing much—I just lost a trial against a third-grader!'"

"Miles Edgeworth, if you say another word, I will sue you for slander!"

"I—"

Franziska snapped her whip against Edgeworth's face.

"Ow!"

Edgeworth rubbed the side of his face. He was rather astonished at what just happened. Franziska _never_ whipped him. She whipped everybody else, but not him.

"Franziska...you haven't done that for years."

"Well, you...you made me angry!"

Edgeworth shut his eyes. "I apologize, Franziska. I got carried away there."

"Apology accepted. Now what do we do?"

"_We?_ I fail to see why I have to do anything."

"You're the one who suggested they send her to court! And besides, little brothers help their big sisters!"

Edgeworth knew better than to argue with Franziska when she was upset. "Fine. Have them send me a transcript of the case. I'll see what I can do about getting an appeal while you're in Germany."

"Excellent," Franziska grinned. "Also, reexamine the rules on minors appearing in court. I think I may be able to prosecute Pearl Fey for impersonating her sister, thus rendering her appearance in court invalid."

"Do you really think suing a nine-year-old is the best way to take care of things?"

"Yes."

* * *

"I don't see why Sister Bikini said she couldn't change to another training course," Phoenix complained. "Two hours of waterfall meditation and walking up a mountain does not require a lot of preparation."

"There's a big rock behind you. We're going to have to move left."

"And what—?"

"No, not your left, _my_ left."

Phoenix stepped to his right, but he hit his foot against the rock anyway.

"Ow! Maya!"

"Sorry! Keep going straight now. The path is smooth here."

Phoenix sighed. "This whole trip is a lot more hassle than it's worth."

"Don't be such a fuddy-duddy, Nick! It's kind of fun!"

"Going to the movies is fun. Taking a hike when you can't see where you're going is not fun."

"You're the only person I know who could hug someone and still be grumpy. Don't you know that hugs make everything better?"

In Phoenix's opinion, it was somewhat odd for Maya to talk about the power of hugs, seeing as she loved to watch violent cartoons all the time. But he took the hint anyway, and stopped complaining.

* * *

Pearl laughed as she listened to her younger self talk excitedly about the trial.

"It was the greatest trial ever! Even better than the one where the bad guy was guilty and was holding Mystic Maya hostage!"

"I never thought _you'd_ win a trial before I did!" Pearl said. "Great job!"

"Does this make me an official lawyer? Because I want to be a lawyer like you and Mister Nick!"

"Sorry, it doesn't make you an official lawyer. You have to take a test for that."

"That's okay," Pearl said. "I also want to be a spirit medium like Mystic Maya! Do you think I can be a lawyer _and_ a spirit medium?"

"The Wright and Fey Offices: Legal Defense and Spirit Channeling..." Older Pearl mused. "Yeah...I think that could work."

"The only bad part was that I didn't get to cross-examine anyone," Pearl said. "But I had lots of objections anyway!"

"What did you object to?"

"That prosecutor lady! She's mean!"

"Pearl, you know you shouldn't call someone else mean, right? I'm sure she's a nice person when you get to know her."

"Really?"

"Sure! Why, I bet that right now, she's doing something nice for someone else!"

* * *

Pearl's bet was wrong.

"SCRUFFY! Why did you tell Pearl Fey to appear in court?" Franziska shouted.

"Uh..." Detective Gumshoe thought for a moment, wiggling his eyebrows furiously. Was this a trick question?

"Because you asked me to, Pal?"

"I wanted you to tell _Pearl Fey_ to appear in court, not Pearl Fey!"

Gumshoe scratched his head. "Could you repeat that?"

"Pearl Fey! The one that works for Phoenix Wright! I meant _her!_"

"Oh, well, I didn't know which Pearl Fey you meant, Pal."

"YOU FOOL! Even a fool should realize that I meant the Pearl Fey who is a legal assistant, _not the nine-year-old!!!_"

"Oh..." Gumshoe said. "Yeah, that makes a lot more sense, Pal!"

*_Whip!_*

"Don't call me 'Pal,' Fool! I am _not_ your friend!"

"But...you helped prove Maggey innocent! That makes you my friend, Pal!"

"_I am not your friend! I have no friends!_"

"You don't? That's so...sad!"

"FOOL!"

*_Whip!_* *_Whip!_* *_Whip!_* *_Whip!_* *_Whip!_* *_Whip!_*

* * *

Phoenix and Maya's progress stopped for a moment.

"Okay, um..."

"What is it?"

"Well, the path goes up...and there are steps."

"I have to go up _steps?_"

"Don't worry! We'll go really slowly. Just move your feet back a little bit and—"

Phoenix's heel hit against a piece of wood with a _clunk_.

"Is that it?"

"I guess."

"You _guess?_"

"I can't see your foot, Nick! Your body is in the way!"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"It's okay. Try lifting your foot up and feel for the end of the step..."

"Woah!"

Phoenix slipped and fell backwards. Maya landed on top of him.

"Ow!"

"Ouch!"

Now, if Pearl was writing this story, she would say that what happened next was a magical moment. With Maya and Phoenix's faces so close together, it was only natural that their lips would brush up against each other, thus starting a True Love First Kiss™ that caused the two special someones to realize they were destined to spend the rest of their lives together.

Unfortunately, that's not what happened.

Yes, Maya and Phoenix's faces were close together, and yes, Maya's lips bumped up against part of Phoenix's face.

But it wasn't his lips that entered her mouth.

"May—"

"Ew!" Maya said, turning her head to the side and sputtering. "I think I tried to swallow your nose!"

Phoenix wrinkled his nose. It was wet. "How did my nose end up in your _mouth?_"

"I'm sorry! It was an accident!"

There was a pause as Phoenix and Maya looked away from each other for a while, which is somewhat hard for two people to do when they're lying on top of each other.

"Well, this is incredibly awkward," Phoenix said.

"No doubt," Maya agreed. "Good thing no one else is here."

Phoenix turned his head to look towards Maya again.

"Um...how do we get back up again?"

"You're on the bottom. Push yourself off of the ground. Duh."

"I can't! My arms are handcuffed behind your back!"

"Uh oh."

* * *

Franziska returned to her office in a slightly better mood. After all, it was almost the weekend. Maybe Miles would have the whole situation under control by the time she returned from Germany...

Waiting on her desk was a note and a news report. The report was printed from a local website.

**Nine-Year-Old Wins Trial**

_Earlier today, there was an unexpected change in lawyers for the State VS Byrde trial. Rather than represent his client himself, Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright sent a nine-year-old girl named Pearl Fey in his stead._

_What is more amazing is the fact that she managed to win the case within five minutes, much to the shame of Prosecutor Franz Vonk Arma, who attempted to use physical violence to stop the child lawyer._

The article went on for several more paragraphs. The note was shorter.

_Franziska,_

_See me __**immediately**_**.**

_-Lana Skye, Chief of Prosecutors_

Franziska swore loudly.

* * *

"Maybe if we rolled over on our sides?" Phoenix suggested.

"That won't work," Maya said.

"So, basically, we're stuck lying here until Sister Bikini comes back."

"Don't be silly, Nick. I can get out of this."

"How?"

"My hands aren't handcuffed together like yours, remember? I'll just...slip out of here..."

Maya pushed against the ground and squirmed her way out of Phoenix's arms. Once he was no longer pulling her down, she was able to stand up.

"Ta-da!"

"You could have done that _this whole time?_" Phoenix asked. "We didn't _have_ to hug-walk up the mountain?"

"Well, yeah, but that would have been cheating! Sister Bikini said we had to hug-hike all the way up the mountain."

Maya pulled on Phoenix's hands and helped him get to his feet.

"Besides, hugging you is fun. Now come on, let's try going up those steps again."

Phoenix sighed. "Fine..."

* * *

"Hazakura Temple. Sister Bikini speaking."

"Hi, Sister Bikini. It's Pearl."

"Don't forget me!"

"Pearl's here, too."

"Hello, Pearl and Pearl! Good to hear from you!"

"We thought we'd call and see how Nick and Maya are doing with the Couples' Training."

"Have they kissed yet?" Younger Pearl asked.

"I had them do two hours of waterfall meditation," Sister Bikini said. "Right now, they've hiking up the mountain while hugging."

"_Have they kissed yet?_" Younger Pearl asked.

"Pearl wants to know if they've kissed yet."

"No," Sister Bikini said.

"No," Pearl told Pearl.

"Awww...try harder, Sister Bikini!" Pearly encouraged.

"So everything is going well? There haven't been any...unexpected murder plots or something like that?"

"Not yet," Sister Bikini said cheerfully. "Just our two friends, learning how to strengthen their spiritual power and emotional bond."

"Well, I'll call back later, then. Right now we have to go for a celebratory lunch."

"Really? What are you celebrating?"

"Pearl won her first trial as a defense attorney!"

"I'm the best lawyer in the world! Except maybe for Mister Nick."

"Pearl was in court?" Sister Bikini asked, scratching her head. "_How_ old is she again?"

"She's nine."

"...Right. Goodbye!"

* * *

Lana Skye folded her hands over her desk. "What happened in court today?"

"It was the most foolish trial ever," Franziska said. "Such a mockery that it shouldn't even _count_ as a trial. No witnesses gave testimony, the defense was a child..."

"There really _was_ a nine-year-old girl in court?"

"Yes, it was—"

"Silence."

Lana pulled out a form and showed it to Franziska.

"Do you recognize this? The waiver you signed to let a non-licensed attorney serve as the defense?"

"Yes," Franziska said, sullenly.

"When you submitted this form for my approval, you didn't mention that Pearl Fey was _nine years old_. Not only do _you_ look stupid for letting her in court, you make _me_ and the entire Prosecutor's Office look stupid as well."

"I meant the other Pearl Fey!" Franziska protested.

"There are two?"

"Yes!" Franziska said. "I meant the one who works for Phoenix Wright! The one who is preparing to take the bar exam—not the _child!_"

Franziska snapped her whip on the ground.

"Any _fool_ should see that I—"

"Enough," Lana said. "To be frank, Franziska, you've always been a bit of a liability to the Prosecutor's Office. There have been constant complaints about your methods, your treatment of co-workers and your harassment of innocent victims. I've tried to overlook these complaints in favor of your exceptional record in court, however..."

Franziska snapped her whip on Lana's desk. "Lana Skye! I am the perfect prosecutor! Today's trial was a mere mockery, a—"

"Don't snap your whip on my desk!" Lana ordered. "In fact, give me your whip now."

Franziska reluctantly handed her whip to Lana. Lana took the whip and unceremoniously threw it in a trash can.

Lana swung around in her chair so her back was facing Franziska.

"I understand you're leaving for Germany in a few days. You would be well advised to make your stay there more...permanent."

Franziska growled. Was she being...fired? No. No, that was inconceivable.

"That is all. Goodbye, Franziska."

* * *

"Ah, good! You finally made it!" Sister Bikini said, clapping her hands. "Did you enjoy the hike?"

"Have _you_ ever hiked up a mountain while handcuffed to someone else?" Phoenix muttered sarcastically.

"I had fun!" Maya said.

"That's great!" Sister Bikini said. "But I'm afraid I have some bad news, Mr. Wright. I lost the key to the handcuffs."

"_Whaaaaaat?_" Phoenix cried.

"Ha ha ha! Just kidding! I'll take them off for you!"

Sister Bikini removed the handcuffs, and Phoenix rubbed his wrists. Both his arms _and_ his wrists were hurting now.

"What's next with the training?" Maya asked.

"You two have been busy, so I'll give you a break before the next training exercise. You can unpack your belongings in your room, and then we can have a short meal together."

"Sounds good to me!" Maya said.

"Yeah, me too," Phoenix agreed.

* * *

The Pearls were really excited about having lunch with Detective Gumshoe and Maggey Byrde in celebration of Maggey's innocence, but their lunch was cancelled due to some bad news.

"Sorry, pal," Detective Gumshoe said. "We'll have to schedule our celebration for another time. There's an emergency back at the office."

"Oh no! What's wrong?" Pearl asked.

Gumshoe looked to the side. "It's Prosecutor von Karma. She's in a bad situation right now. I'm worried about her."

"Really? Why?"

"It's just...she told me she doesn't have any friends."

"How sad!" Pearly said.

"Well, I guess it makes sense that she doesn't have friends..." Older Pearl mused. "She _is_ kind of mean..."

"But everybody needs friends!"

"That's not the worst of it, pal." Gumshoe said. "I just heard that she's been fired for losing the trial today."

"What does fie-yured mean?" Pearl asked.

"It's mean she lost her job," Older Pearl said.

"Then we have to help her!" Pearl said. "Especially if she doesn't have any friends!"

* * *

Sister Bikini showed Phoenix and Maya to a room near the front of the temple. She had brought up their luggage while they were doing waterfall meditation.

"This must be Iris' room," Maya said.

"How do you know?" Phoenix asked.

Maya pointed to the bed. The quilt on top of the bed was decorated with pictures of irises.

"Oh," Phoenix said.

Phoenix looked at the bed for a while. "Why is there only one bed?" he mused. "Shouldn't we get separate rooms?"

Maya wasn't paying attention. She was busy having fun going through Iris' clothes dresser.

"Look at all these hoods!" Maya said, taking one out and putting it on. "Hey, Nick, what do you think?"

"You look ridiculous," Phoenix said. "Stop playing with Iris' clothes."

"Party pooper," Maya complained, taking the hood off and putting it back.

Phoenix unzipped his pack and was taking out his socks when he heard Maya give a short shriek.

"Woah! It's..._you!_"

"What?"

Maya pulled out a small photograph from inside the dresser. Phoenix recognized it immediately—it was a photograph from when he was going out with Dahlia in college. The two of them were laughing and smiling together.

"Nick...why does Iris have a photo of the two of you in her drawer?" Maya asked.


	5. Angry Maya

"You used to know Iris!" Maya accused.

"No! I mean, yes! No wait, no!"

"You're keeping secrets from me!" Maya said, looking huffy. "Why is it that every time I come here, somebody's keeping secrets?"

"I'm not keeping secrets!" Phoenix protested. "Honest!"

"I thought you said you told me everything about what happened!" Maya said.

"Look, I can explain," Phoenix said. "Back when I was in college, I went out with a girl named Dahlia Hawthorne for a while."

"Dahlia? My evil half-cousin?"

"I didn't know she was your cousin! I didn't even know _you_ then!"

"Uh huh. Go on."

"Well, Dahlia and I were a couple for six months, until she tried to kill me."

"How?"

"Poison. Well, actually, she framed me for murder, and your sister helped her get convicted—"

"I _know_ that!" Maya said. "Mia got Dahlia convicted for murdering Mr. Armando. _You_ were the defendant in that case?

"...I was," Phoenix muttered. That was one of the details he'd skipped over while talking to Maya about what happened, mainly because he didn't want to talk about his doomed relationship with Dahlia.

"So you _did_ lie to me!" Maya said. "That's just great, Nick! Any other big secrets you forgot to mention?"

"No, I swear I'm not keeping secrets from you! I just didn't tell you because it happened five years ago! It's not important to me anymore!"

"That's obviously not true if Iris still has a picture of the two of you! She must have a major crush on you and—"

Maya gasped in a manner similar to Pearl. "So _that's_ why you wanted to go to Hazakura in the first place! You only agreed to come _after_ you saw the picture of Iris!"

"Um..."

"No, wait," Maya said. "You said you went out with Dahlia. So why would _Iris_ have a picture of you two?"

Phoenix sighed. There was no way to sugarcoat this answer. "I...kind of went out with both of them," he admitted.

"And you just swore you weren't keeping secrets from me," Maya said coldly. "You suck, Nick!"

She turned around and left the room in a huff.

"Maya...?" Phoenix squeaked.

* * *

There was a knock on Lana Syke's door.

"I'm here," she called.

Ema opened the door and stuck her head inside. "Hey, Lana! School's over for today!"

"Okay, let me finish up a few things here, and we can go out for dinner. Come on in."

"Um...I would, but there's kind of a lot of people here waiting for you..." Ema said.

"What?"

A crowd of people burst in Lana Skye's office, shoving Ema aside.

"You can't fire Miss Von Karma, pal!"

"There is precedent which clearly shows that a proper inquiry must be invoked!"

"I know she's mean, but it's not her fault! I'm a really good lawyer!"

"What they said!"

"Hold it!" Lana Skye said. "What's going on?"

Detective Gumshoe and the two Pearls fell silent. Edgeworth cleared his throat.

"We don't think you should fire Miss von Karma," he said. "It's an overly harsh punishment, and you don't know all the facts of the trial."

"And you do?"

"I do!" Younger Pearl said. "I was there!"

"Who are you?" Lana asked.

"I'm Pearl Fey, Ace Attorney!" Pearl said.

"The one from the trial?"

"That's me!"

Lana thought for a moment. This was a most unusual situation. It probably _would_ be best to hear what they had to say.

"Fine," Lana said. "You all have ten minutes to convince me not to fire Miss von Karma."

* * *

Mad Maya was kind of scary, Phoenix decided. She kept on giving Phoenix evil death glares of doom—probably a move she had perfected after watching hours of cartoon villains—throughout the entire meal.

"Are you two _sure_ you're okay?"

"We're fine," Phoenix lied.

"Couldn't be better," Maya said. "What's the next training exercise?"

Sister Bikini gestured to the bridge, which had been newly rebuilt. The new bridge looked a lot sturdier than the old one, and Phoenix noticed that it seemed to be made out of a fireproof material.

"The next exercise is just like the waterfall meditation," Sister Bikini explained. "You test your ability to concentrate against extreme physical discomfort."

"And that would be...?"

"Bungee jumping, of course," Sister Bikini said. "That's why we have the long ropes on the bridge."

"Oh, yeah, those would be the ropes that were used to swing Elise Deauxnim's body from one side of the canyon to the other..." Phoenix reflected. "Wait a second, _bungee jumping?_ I'm not going bungee jumping!"

"Don't be such a wuss," Maya said harshly.

"Consider yourselves lucky," Sister Bikini said. "Some people pay good money to come here just for the bungee jumping. You two are getting it for free as part of your Couple's Training."

"We are _so_ not a couple," Maya said.

"I am _so_ not bungee jumping," Phoenix said.

Maya and Phoenix complained for a while, but Sister Bikini was used to dealing with people who didn't want to jump. In ten minutes, she managed to get them out of their worries and into the bungee jumping harnesses.

"There we go. The ropes are good and tight. We wouldn't want you falling into the river again! Ha ha ha!"

"I'm going to fall to my doom, and you're making jokes," Phoenix complained.

"Have fun, Nick!" Maya said, sneaking behind him and pushing him off the bridge.

"AAAAAAAAAAA!" Phoenix screamed.

"That was really fun!" Maya said.

"You next," Sister Bikini said, pushing Maya off.

"Noooooo!" Maya screamed.

* * *

"So you see, it's not her fault, pal. It's mine," Detective Gumshoe said, lowering his head. "I was the one who gave the form to Pearl, not Miss von Karma."

"Detective Gumshoe, it's nice of you to lie to try to make things better for Franziska," Lana Skye said. "But the truth is nobody's that stupid. And besides, arranging things so a nine-year-old is in court instead of an adult is just the sort of thing Franziska would do to try to ensure victory. She's obsessed with winning trials at any cost."

"I know that, pal, but she really—"

"Okay, Gumshoe's turn is over. Who's next?"

"I am," Edgeworth said. "Chief Prosecutor, the transcript for the trial hasn't even been written up yet. It could reveal important information about what occurred. I suggest that you wait for the transcript to be finished, and if it seems necessary, form an inquiry committee."

"If Mr. Edgeworth thinks so, it must be a good idea!" Ema gushed.

"Miles, you were subject to an inquiry committee once, yes?" Lana Skye asked.

"Yes, concerning the SL-9 case."

"Then you should know that they only get formed if a prosecutor is suspected of breaking a law. Now, I ask you: is Franziska being accused of breaking the law?"

"No."

"Ergo, no inquiry committee can be formed. Next!"

"I guess that's me," Older Pearl said. "Um...I don't know a lot about Miss von Karma, but she seems like she'd be a hard worker..."

* * *

Franziska von Karma probably would have gone to a bar and gotten drunk after being fired, except she was still underage.

_Foolish American laws. Foolish American legal system. Foolish country of fools..._

She missed her whip already.

"This is all that foolish Phoenix Wright's fault!" Franziska muttered to herself, as she marched over to Phoenix's law office to _demand_ an explanation of why he couldn't be in court that day. "The fool said he had to go on a foolish vacation, what foolery!"

But, of course, it wasn't foolery. The offices were closed, and the note on the door said that Phoenix and Maya had left to do spiritual training and would be back by Monday.

Franziska tried to remember where the fool Fey did spiritual training. Kurain? Hazakurain? Hazak...Hazakura!

"The place in the mountains!" Franziska said. "The one where the fool was locked underground for days! The fools _returned_ there?"

Franziska reflected. Yes, that would be the kind of foolish thing those fools would do.

Very well. She was going to Hazakura. That Phoenix Wright was going to get a piece of her mind...

* * *

Bungee jumping spirit training was less fun than you would expect. After the bungee part was over, it was mostly just hanging off a bridge by some ropes for a long period of time.

Phoenix and Maya's backs were against each other. Phoenix couldn't _see_ Maya, but he did have a good opportunity to try to reason with her.

"Maya, I wasn't trying to keep secrets. I was _going_ to tell you about it eventually. The opportunity just never came up."

"I don't want to talk right now, Nick."

"But you have to listen to me! Iris and I are just—"

"_Aaaaaaa!_ What in the—? Where am I?"

Phoenix recognized that voice. "Mia?"

"Phoenix? Is that you? What's going on?"

Great. Maya had summoned her sister just to avoid talking to him.

"Well, we're hanging off of a bridge by some ropes."

"Let me guess. We angered the locals by accidentally breaking one of their fertility idols, so they're sacrificing us the River Goddess Chin-Oua."

"What?"

"That happened in _Samurai Exploration 5_, when...never mind. I'm babbling to distract myself. _Why_ are we dangling off of a bridge?"

"We're doing bungee jumping spiritual training at Hazakura," Phoenix explained.

"_Oh..._" Mia said. "Bungee jumping. That makes sense...sort of. I would have preferred a little bit of a warning, though. Waking up to dangling off a bridge isn't fun."

"I'm not having much fun either," Phoenix said.

"Why are you and Maya doing spiritual training together?" Mia asked.

"Pearl signed us up for the Couples' Training Course."

"And you two are...?"

"_Not_ a couple," Phoenix said. "Pearl just thinks we are."

"Right. So Maya summoned me because she's doing her spiritual training," Mia said.

"I think she did it so she wouldn't have to listen to me, actually," Phoenix said.

"Why wouldn't she want to listen to you?"

Phoenix didn't feel like talking about it, but he always had an easier time talking to Mia than Maya. Besides, she wouldn't get mad at him...right?

"Maya's kind of mad at me. She found out about my history with Dahlia."

"History with Dahlia? You mean, you didn't tell her about our first trial together?"

"I told her about the trial and Dahlia being arrested, but I didn't tell her that _I_ was the defendant."

"Really? That seems like something you should have mentioned."

"What was I supposed to say? 'Sorry, I went out with your evil half-cousin who killed your mother'?"

"Oh. Yeah, I guess that trial probably _would_ be hard to explain. Especially the part where you acted like such a doofus over her."

"_Doofus?_" Phoenix asked. Did Mia really think he was a doofus?

"You wore a pink heart sweater every day just because _Darling Dolly_ gave it to you," Mia said scornfully. "It was quite sickening to see you fawn over my sworn enemy like that."

"That wasn't her," Phoenix said, wanting to defend himself. "Dahlia, I mean. It was Iris."

"What?"

"Iris told me after the trial—she was the one I dated, not Dahlia. That's why I thought she was sweet. The real Dahlia was probably too mean to have a boyfriend."

"Really?"

"Dahlia wanted to kill me outright. Iris pretended to be Dahlia so she could try to get the locket back from me peacefully. She was looking out for me the whole time."

Mia chewed on that information for a while.

"Interesting," she said. "To be honest, I didn't even know Iris existed until last week. Much less that we were related."

"That wasn't last week," Phoenix said. "It's actually been over month. Sorry for not keeping you up-to-date; we've been busy lately with Future Pearl coming to the office."

"Future Pearl?"

"Oh, man, I _haven't_ talked to you lately..."

* * *

"So, maybe you could just punish her by taking away her whip, not firing her," Older Pearl suggested.

"I _did_ take away her whip," Lana Skye said. "That just turned her from a delinquent with a whip into a delinquent without a whip. Is that the only thing you have to say in Franziska's defense?"

"Um..."

Ema frowned. Lana was acting the same way she did during her trial—cold and aloof. Ema hated it when her sister acted like that.

"I've never seen Miss Skye this mad before, pal," Gumshoe whispered to Older Pearl. "I don't think our chances of convincing here are any good."

"How many times have you seen her before?" Older Pearl asked.

"This is the second time," Gumshoe said.

"Gumshoe!"

"Good," Lana Skye said. "You tried, but you all failed to come up with any convincing reasons. Franziska remains fired; now leave my office so I can get my work done."

"I didn't get a chance!" Younger Pearl complained.

Lana rolled her eyes. "Fine. Go ahead."

"You shouldn't fire Miss Frandzika because it's not her fault! I know she's mean, and she's bossy, and she made fun of my hairdo, but if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have found the bad guy!"

"Yeah!" Gumshoe said.

"And that means me and her did a _good_ job!" Younger Pearl said. "Mystic Mia says the important thing about being a lawyer is getting justice for everyone! It doesn't matter if you're a prossy-cuter or a defensewoman. It's about stopping the bad guys and making sure the good guys win!"

Justice...

Mia...

Lana remembered having that argument with Mia, years ago...

_"Believe in your client? That's crazy! You can't believe your clients!"_

_"My job is to believe in my client no matter what."_

_"No, your job is to make sure criminals are punished!"_

_"You're too harsh, Lana. Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys have the same job: to make sure justice is done. And there's no way you can do your client justice if you think she's guilty."_

Maybe Mia was right. Maybe she _was_ too harsh...

"Okay," Lana said. "You could be right. I'll undo the firing and take a closer look at things...for now."

Everyone cheered, except for Edgeworth, who never made loud noises if he could help it.

"Thank you, Miss Lana!" Pearly said. "Mister Nick was right when he said you were nice!"

Lana Sky smiled. "Maybe Franziska shouldn't be blamed for losing the trial. It seems you're quite the little lawyer."

* * *

Eventually, the time for bungee jumping spirit training ended, and Sister Bikini pulled them back up. Mia promised to use her spiritual powers to resume haunting Phoenix as Ghost Mia if she didn't get summoned more often, and then she left Maya's body.

"Hello again, Maya," Phoenix said, politely. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm still not talking to you," Maya said.

_Darn,_ Phoenix thought. He was hoping that she would have cooled off a bit while she was in...wherever she went when she summoned Mia.

"Fine," Phoenix said. "But if you're not talking to me, you're never going to find out what happened between me and Iris."

"I don't care what happened between you and Iris," Maya lied. "You two can get married for all I care."

"Fine. Maybe I will."

Maya stuck out her tongue at Phoenix.

"Um..." Sister Bikini said. "You two _do _know the point of Couples Training is for the couple to get closer together, right?"

"We're not a couple," Maya said. "In fact, Nick doesn't know anything about spiritual training, so he doesn't belong here. I think he should just go home and let me train in peace."

Sister Bikini looked confused as to what to do. "Maybe you two need some time apart?"

"Private meditation is _exactly_ what I need," Maya said, strutting across the bridge to the Inner Temple. "Don't follow after me."

Phoenix watched her go for a few moments, then started heading towards the nearby Losers Shack.


	6. A Fight at the Loser's Shack

Lying in the Losers Shack wasn't so bad, Phoenix decided. It was kind of warm here, the view was spectacular, and he could listen to the sounds of nature...

"FOOOOOOL!"

Phoenix sat up. That sounded like Franziska von Karma.

"What would she be doing here?" Phoenix wondered.

"Foolish fool Phoenix Wright, wasting my time..."

Great. That _was_ Franziska. Man, Phoenix did _not_ want to deal with this right now...

The door to the Losers Shack slammed open. "Fool!" Franziska cried. "You'd better have a good reason for not showing up in court today!"

"Huh?" Phoenix asked. "Didn't you get my message? I'm on vacation for today."

"I got your message!" Franziska snarled. "I want to know _why_ your vacation was so important that you couldn't come to the trial!"

"...Because it's a vacation?" Phoenix said. "That's the idea behind vacations: you don't do any work."

*_Slap!_*

"Ow!"

"I know that, fool!" Franziska said. "I just got fired for losing the trial today, and I want to know why _you_ weren't there!"

"You got _fired?_"

*_Slap!_*

"Don't sound so happy, Phoenix Wright! This isn't over! I will get my revenge on you _and_ Pearl Fey!"

"Pearl?"

*_Slap!_*

"Don't be so foolish! You _know_ she was the defense attorney!"

"I did not! Pearl won a trial against you?"

*_Slap!_*

Phoenix had had just about enough of Franziska slapping him. Without thinking much about it, he brought up his hand and slapped her.

*_Slap!_*

"Fool, how dare you slap me?" Franziska cried.

"_You_ slapped me first!"

"That's only because I don't have my whip! Fool!"

*_Slap!_*

"Stop that!" Phoenix cried.

*_Slap!_* Franziska slapped Phoenix.

*_Slap!_* Phoenix slapped Franziska.

*_Slap!_* Franziska slapped Phoenix.

*_Slap!_* Phoenix slapped Franziska.

"You wanna fight? Bring it!" Phoenix cried. "I've been doing waterfall training, so I'm stronger than ever before!"

"No one outfights a von Karma!" Franziska cried.

*_Slap!_* *_Slap!_* *_Slap!_*

*_SLAP!_* *_SLAP!_* *_SLAP!_*

*_Punch!*_

_*Punch!* *Kick!* *Slap!*_

_*Punch!* *Smack!* *Punch punch punch!*_

_*WHAM!*_

It was a shame that Maya wasn't there to watch the two lawyers vent their frustration by beating each other up. Some of the fighting moves they used would give the Steel Samurai a run for his money.

* * *

Maya was too mad to meditate properly.

_Stupid Nick._

Nick was apparently hiding some kind of shady history where he went out with _both_ of her cousins. No wonder he knew what was going on when her mother died. He was part of the complicated story behind the murder plot.

That was the whole reason her mother died—everyone here was keeping secrets. Iris was keeping secrets about her family history, Bikini and Godot kept the secret of Elise Deauxnim's true identity, even Pearl was keeping the secret about her mother's instructions.

If only everybody told the truth all the time...

_Mom would still be alive. Mia would still be alive._

_I thought Nick was the only person who never lied or kept secrets..._

Maya fingered the Magatama she wore around her neck. Oddly enough, she hadn't seen _any_ Psyche Locks when she confronted Nick.

"This stupid thing must be broken," Maya muttered to herself.

* * *

Phoenix and Franziska were beginning to wear out when Franziska's cell phone rang.

"Time out!" Franziska cried.

Phoenix was panting for air. "Yeah...time out," he said.

Franziska opened her phone. "Hello, Miles Edgeworth. I don't have time to talk. I'm busy with Phoenix Wr—"

"Edgeworth, if that's you, I want you to help me sue Franziska for assault!" Phoenix called.

"Shut up, fool!"

"You shut up!"

_She's out of breath, and she's with Phoenix Wright..._ Edgeworth thought. _They must be...no. NO!_

Edgeworth shuddered violently.

"What on _Earth_ are you doing?" he demanded.

"Reducing Phoenix Wright to a punching bag," Franziska said.

"I'm going to have a black eye now," Phoenix complained.

"Right...I'm calling to tell you that Chief Skye reversed her decision. You are _not_ fired."

"I'm not?"

"Absolutely not. She just got finished telling me this personally."

"You're the best brother ever!" Franziska cried, pumping her fist in the air triumphantly. "_Franziska von Karma is back! Criminals beware!_"

"Don't thank me. It was really Pearl Fey who convinced the Chief to unfire you."

"Pearl Fey? She..."

"Defended you, yes. Even _after_ defeating you in court, I might add."

Franziska didn't understand this. As far as she knew, defense attorneys never helped prosecutors, and vice-versa. "Why would she do that?"

"She and Gumshoe were spouting some sort of nonsense about you needing friends."

"Ah. I see. Not really. In that case...don't leave the office yet. I'm coming back."

"Understood."

Franziska shut her cell phone.

"Good news, Phoenix Wright. I'm not fired after all. I don't have to fight you anymore."

"Oh. Good," Phoenix said.

The two rivals looked at each other in silence for a moment.

"Why were we fighting anyway?"

"I forget," Franziska said. "But I enjoyed it immensely."

"Your lip is bleeding," Phoenix noted.

"Only a foolish fool worries about foolish injuries," Franziska said. "I am going back to the city. Farewell."

"Hold it!" Phoenix cried. "Franziska, wait! I...can I bum a ride off of you? I don't have any other way back to LA. We drove up here in Maya's car."

"You are lucky I am in a good mood, Phoenix Wright," Franziska said, wagging her finger at him.

And so it was that Franziska gave Phoenix a ride back home.

* * *

In the Prosecutor's Office, Ema Skye watched Edgeworth as he made his phone call to Franziska.

"Mr. Edgeworth is so dreamy..." Ema sighed wistfully.

"Isn't he a little old for you?" Older Pearl asked.

"No way! He's only eight years older than me! We'd make a great couple. If only he would pay attention to me..."

"I can help you," Older Pearl offered. "Pearl and I are really good at that kind of thing."

"Really?"

"We're matchmakers," Pearl said. "We set up Phoenix Wright with Maya Fey, after all."

"You did? So you can help _me_?" Ema asked.

"Sure! Nick and Maya's relationship is perfect, after all!"

* * *

_I think I hate Nick_, Maya thought. _How could he date some evil girl who tried to kill me?_

She had given up on meditating and was just lying on the ground, thinking.

_Dahlia didn't even __know__ me. She just wanted to get revenge on my sister for that trial. And Nick was the defendant at the trial...he's the reason __why__ she wanted revenge on Sis..._

It was too bad that Pearl wasn't around. Maya would have liked to have someone summon Mia so she could talk to her sister about what happened. Because, to be quite honest, there were a lot of holes in the version of the story that Maya had.

_Did Nick do something to her? Did she do something to him?_

She was beginning to regret getting rid of Nick before pressing him for more details. Maybe she had been a bit too quick to jump to conclusions, and it was all just a big misunderstanding...Maybe he could explain...Maybe it wasn't his fault...

"No," Maya told herself. "No matter what the truth is, he still lied about something huge. And you don't lie to your best friend about life-or-death situations."

Maya sighed and rolled over onto her stomach. All these heavy emotions were weighing her down.

"I just wish I knew what _happened..._"

* * *

Phoenix called Older Pearl on the ride back to LA.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Pearl. It's Phoenix. I wanted to say great job on winning the trial today!"

"It was not a great job, fool! It was pure luck!"

"Hi, Nick. Who's that?"

"It's Franziska von Karma. She's taking me back home to the city."

"Back to the city? What about training with Maya?"

"Oh...Maya...she said I was slowing her down because I don't know how to do spiritual training, so she asked me to leave."

"What? No way!"

"I'm telling the truth! Maya's actually kind of mad at me right now."

"All right, Nick. What did you do _this_ time?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"No way. If there's a problem in the relationship, it's always the guy's fault," Pearl said.

"For the last time, I'm _not_ in a relationship with Maya! That's just some weird fantasy you dreamed up!"

"But you two make such a cute couple!"

"You two are both fools," Franziska noted.

"You seriously need to give it up. I can understand how Pearly might think Maya and I are a romantic, fairy tale couple or something like that because she's still young, but you're too old to believe in that stuff."

"I'm not _that_ old," Pearl said. "I'm only 22."

"Yes, and that's three years older than Maya," Phoenix pointed out. "Doesn't that make you realize she's _way too young for me?_"

"...Maybe." Pearl said. There was no way she would ever answer "yes" to that question.

"Maybe. Good enough. Now please do me a favor and drop the issue."

"Fine." Pearl said.

_This isn't over_, she thought.

"Great. So...why don't we meet up for dinner tonight? My treat. I want to hear all about your first trial."

"I wasn't at the trial," Pearl said.

"What?" Phoenix asked.

"Little Pearl won the trial today, not me," Pearl explained.

"Wait, Franziska lost to _Pearly?_" Phoenix asked, beginning to laugh.

_*Slap!*_

"Don't laugh, fool!"

"Franziska, keep both hands on the wheel! Don't you know how to drive? Jeez, no wonder you lost to a third grader!"

"FOOL!"

_*Slap!* *Slap!* *Slap!*_

The phone call got cut off as Franziska knocked the phone out of Phoenix's hands.

"Wow, I sure hope they don't crash or anything..." Pearl said.

Little Pearl pulled on Big Pearl's sleeve. "Who were you talking to?" she asked.

"That was Mister Nick. He wants to have dinner with us."

"Isn't he with Mystic Maya?"

"Maya apparently asked him to go home," Pearl said.

Pearly gasped. "No! She loves Mister Nick!"

"I don't understand it, either," Pearl said. "I think we'd better investigate."

* * *

Maya was lying in the meditation garden with her eyes closed. She figured that since she wasn't going to do any meditation, she might as well take a nap.

Then her cell phone went off. She picked it up and checked who was calling before she answered.

"Hey Pearl," Maya said.

"MYSTIC MAYA! HOW COULD YOU LET MISTER NICK GO AWAY?"

"Ow!" Maya said, pulling the phone away from her ear.

"YOU NEED TO BE WITH YOUR SPECIAL SOMEONE TO TRAIN, AND TELLING HIM TO LEAVE IS...IS...NOT VERY NICE! YOU—!"

Maya hung up before her ears exploded.

Half a minute later, the phone rang again.

"Sorry about that," Pearl said. "I shouldn't have let Younger Pearl make the phone call."

"That's okay. My eardrums will heal eventually."

"You probably figured it out already, but we want to know why you sent Nick away from Hazakura. What'd he do?"

"He lied to me," Maya said. "He's keeping _some_ kind of secret from me, but I don't know what it is quite yet."

"How do you know?"

"I found a picture of him and Sister Iris together from five years ago, and he said he didn't meet her until last month."

"Sister Iris...?" Younger Pearl asked, thinking hard. Then she remembered and got angry. "The girl Mister Nick makes goo-goo eyes at?"

"Yeah, that's the one," Maya confirmed.

"What's he doing with her? She's not his special someone! Mystic Maya is!"

"Yeah, did he say _why_ they took a photo together?"

"Not really," Maya said. "I kinda kicked him out before he could explain. He _did_ say he dated her when he was in college, though."

"Woah, what?" Pearl asked.

"I know! He's lying and keeping secrets, and he'd better have a good explanation for everything by the time I get done here, or I might move back to Kurain!"

"Oh no!" Younger Pearl cried. "We've got to tell Mr. Nick to apologize, fast!"

"Don't worry. I'll get to the bottom of this," Pearl promised. "I'm not a full lawyer yet, but I'm really good at investigation. Do you know where Sister Iris is?"

"She's in jail right now."

"Then that's our next stop," Older Pearl said.

* * *

Phoenix got back to his apartment around 4:00. He collapsed into his sofa.

"Whew! What a day!"

Waterfall meditation and hiking hugs and bungee jumping and death brawls with Franziska von Karma. Not your average day.

Sure, Maya was mad at him, but she'd calm down after a couple of days. The same thing had happened before when he "accidentally" threw out her copy of _The Steel Samurai Meets the Pink Princess_.

All he to do now was sit back, relax, maybe call Pearl again and figure out when they'd meet for dinner, then enjoy his Friday night alone.

_Friday night..._

"Oh man," Phoenix said. "Friday Night Movie!"

Somehow, he had forgotten his weekly tradition with Maya.

Well, he couldn't watch a movie tonight _without_ Maya. That would feel weird. But he couldn't watch a movie _with _her because she was mad at him...

_Oh __man__..._

Phoenix suddenly knew what he had to do. He grabbed his laptop, his wallet and his phone. He called Pearl.

"Hello?"

"It's Phoenix. I'm going to have to cancel our dinner date tonight."

"D-d-date?" Younger Pearl asked.

"Uh oh," Phoenix said.

Pearly started shouting loudly. "MISTER NICK! You can't go out with Older Me! That's disgusting, and it's cheating on your special someone!"

"He didn't mean date as in _date_ date," Pearl tried to explain to her younger self. "He means a dinner date."

"I don't care if he's taking you out to dinner or to the movies!" Pearly said. "It's still wrong!"

"No, he means—never mind. He's _not _trying to ask me out."

"Good," Pearly said, crossing her arms and looking ready to slap Phoenix, just in case.

"So I'll have to see you on Monday instead, when the office opens."

"No big deal," Older Pearl said. "We have plans to meet up with Ema Skye, anyway. Why can't you meet with us tonight?"

"I have to go back to Hazakura and see Maya."

Younger Pearl started jumping with joy. "It's true love!"

* * *

Maya eventually wandered back to the main hall of Hazakura and had dinner alone. After a good start, the day had turned sour, and all she had to look forward to was a long night of feeling awful about what was going on.

She had been eating for five minutes, but she hadn't touched much of her food. That was when Phoenix returned.

"Maya!"

"Nick!"

The welcome sight of a friend during her emotional distress proved to be a challenge to her resolve—it was only with some difficulty that Maya was able to restrain her natural instinct to jump up and give him a hug. Instead, she put on her angry face.

"What are you doing here? I told you to leave!"

"I came back for our Friday night movie."

"We're not doing that this week," Maya said.

"Yes, we are," Phoenix insisted. "I'm sorry that you're mad at me, but we agreed years ago that Friday night means movie night, no matter what."

"Well...we can't watch a movie. There's no TV here."

"I brought my laptop."

"There aren't any movies here."

"I bought one."

"Which one?"

Phoenix pulled out a copy of _The Steel Samurai Meets the Pink Princess_.

"YES!" Maya cried. "You got that for me? Thank you thank you thank you!"

Before she knew what she was doing, Maya was hugging Phoenix.

Then she realized what she was doing, and stepped away. "I'm still mad at you, though," she said.


	7. Pearl's Plans Fail

"Visiting hours are almost over," the guard said.

"I know, but it's really important that I speak with Sister Iris," Pearl said. "_Please?_"

"Please please please?" Younger Pearl asked.

"Well, the most you can get is probably ten minutes, but I'll send for her anyway."

"Thank you!" the Pearls said.

The two Pearls had to stay in the waiting room while the guard went to get Iris.

"I don't remember Sister Iris," Pearl confessed. "In my timeline, Hazakura gets closed due to lack of visitors. What's she like?"

"She's nice," Pearly said. "And pretty. But Mr. Nick should stay away from her!"

"I agree, but..."

"What?"

"Nothing."

The guard reentered the room. "Iris Fey is ready to see you now."

"Iris _Fey?_" Older Pearl wondered.

The two Pearls were let inside.

"Oh!" Iris said. "You're the girl who spends time with Phoenix Wright. Pearl!"

"That's right!"

"And you are?"

"I'm her older sister, Pearl."

"You're both Pearl?"

"She's really me from the future," Pearly said.

"Pearl! Don't _tell_ people that!"

"...Right," Iris said, not sure what was going on. "Why do you want to see me?"

"We want to learn more about you and Phoenix Wright. Can you tell us about him?"

"Certainly," Iris said. "There's not much to say about him. Phoenix was my lawyer in the trial two months ago, that's all. Since then, he's come here a few times to visit me in prison. He's very kind like that."

"So you think he's kind...is _that_ why you dated him in college?" Pearl said loudly. She pointed at Iris as dramatically as she could, which was pretty dramatic, considering that one of the courses Pearl took in law school was Dramatic Finger Movement 101.

"What are you talking about?" Iris asked, confused. "I never went to college. I've spent my whole life at Hazakura Temple."

"Nice try," Pearl said. "But I heard that Nick said you two used to date."

"Well...perhaps you heard incorrectly," Iris suggested. "Phoenix met me for the first time only days before my trial."

"If that's true, why is there a picture of the two of you in your dresser drawer?" Pearl asked.

"Dun dun dun!" Pearly hummed, figuring the moment needed some dramatic music.

A few psyche-locks appeared over Iris.

"I don't want to be rude, but what happened between me and Phoenix is none of your business."

"So you _did_ go out with him!"

"Sorry, but I'm not comfortable talking about my past with some random stranger, especially a stranger who's been going through my dressers while I'm in jail."

"But...but...you _have_ to talk to us!"

"Yeah, you're our cousin!" Younger Pearl said. "That means you have to help us!"

"Your _cousin?_" Iris asked.

"Yeah, what?" Older Pearl asked.

"If she's Mystic Maya's sister, she's our cousin!" Younger Pearl insisted.

Iris wrinkled her nose. "You two are the strangest visitors I've ever had," she said. "I'm Maya's cousin, not her sister."

"Maya's cousin? Right, Iris _Fey!_ Who are you—?"

"Visiting hours are over!" the guard called.

"No!" Pearl said. "We're not done!"

"I think we are," Iris said. "Goodbye, Pearls. Please don't try to poke around in my past anymore."

The Pearls tried to keep talking, but Iris left, and the guard came to push them out of the visitor's room.

"That was confusing," Pearl complained.

"Yeah," Younger Pearl agreed. "If she's not Mystic Maya's sister, why did Mystic Maya call her 'Sister Iris'?"

* * *

After the movie was over, Phoenix didn't turn off his laptop. Instead, he switched over to a document-reading program.

"What's this?" Maya asked.

"It's the court record from the trial where Mia got Dahlia Hawthorne found guilty. The one where I was the defendant. I thought you'd want to see it."

"The big trial you kept a secret from me, huh?" Maya said, suspiciously. "This had better be good."

To make a long story short, it _was_ good. Maya was amazed, not only at how awesome her older sister was, but how evil her cousin was.

"She tried to kill you, killed somebody else, then framed you for it?"

"Uh huh."

"Why is it you kept defending her?" Maya asked.

"I didn't defend her!"

" 'No way! She would never do that! Not my darling Dolly!'" Maya read from the transcript. "Hee hee hee. You kinda sound like a dork."

"I was _not_ a dork!"

"Look at that picture!" Maya said, pointing her finger at the screen. "Are you wearing a pink sweater? Ahhh...that's so _cute!_"

"Stop making fun of me."

"Oh, the sweater has a heart on it because of your love for her! What a sweet boyfriend!"

"You're doing this on purpose."

Maya smiled evilly. Getting revenge on Phoenix for lying to her was going to be more fun than she thought.

* * *

"Okay, Nick," Maya said, when she came to the end of the court report. "I _guess_ I understand why you didn't tell me about this. It's not exactly a casual conversation topic."

"So do you forgive me?"

"I'm going to double-check everything with Mia first," Maya said.

"She'll agree with me on all of this. Do you forgive me?"

"No."

"_No?_"

Maya put her hands on her hips and gave Phoenix her best _I'm an adult and deserve to be taken seriously_ look. It was a look that, needless to say, she didn't use a lot.

"No," Maya said. "You may have told me about your relationship with Dahlia, but that still doesn't explain why _Iris_ had a photograph of the two of you."

"Oh," Phoenix said. "That's easy enough to explain. I didn't know Iris existed until we first came to Hazakura."

"Really," Maya said skeptically.

"Yes, really. Seeing Iris was a shock. She looked just like my crazy ex-girlfriend."

"The one you wanted to marry."

"No!"

"If she had asked you to marry her, would you have said yes?"

"...Maybe."

"Which means yes. Keep going."

Phoenix wanted to argue against the "marrying Dahlia" point a bit more, but he let it pass. "Right. This next part might sound weird, but after the trial, Iris said that she pretended to be Dahlia to go out with me."

"Iris was _that_ hard-up for dates?"

"No! She said Dahlia wanted to kill me outright because I had the poisoned locket! Iris wanted to protect me! So she pretended to be her sister and tried to get the locket back from me without hurting me."

Maya scoffed at the overly dramatic story. "She's probably just trying to sucker you up so she doesn't have to pay you for being her lawyer."

"_You_ never paid me for being your lawyer," Phoenix pointed out.

"That's totally different. I'm your legal assistant. Iris is some random nun."

"And your cousin."

"Half-cousin. Who's not really a family member."

_Note to self: Do not invite Iris to the Fey Family Christmas_, Phoenix thought.

"So Iris pretended to be her sister and went out with you to get the locket back. Then what?"

Phoenix groaned. Maya was going to hate this.

"She...fell in love."

"Oh, spare me the soap opera," Maya said harshly.

_If Maya wants a soap opera, I'll give her a soap opera_, Phoenix thought.

He sighed dramatically. "Maya, I can't abandon Iris! She...she...she's pregnant."

Maya's eyes went wide. "WHAT? You and Iris had...had..."

"No. The baby isn't mine. It's...Edgeworth's."

Maya's jaw dropped open for a second, until she realized that Phoenix was joking.

"Nick, you JERK!" she said, hitting him on the arm. "You shouldn't make jokes about that sort of thing!"

"Oh, come on, Maya, lighten up," Phoenix said. "Why are you upset over this? So I went out with a girl _five years ago_. We never saw each other afterwards. Why should it matter unless..."

An idea struck Phoenix.

"You're jealous," he said.

"Am not."

"You _are!_ You're acting just like a jealous girlfriend!"

"I am _not_ your girlfriend!"

"Then you wouldn't care if I went out with Iris again."

"You will _NOT_ see Iris again," Maya commanded. "You're just saying that to make me angry."

"True," Phoenix admitted. "But you were teasing me about my pink sweater. That makes us even."

"As if!" Maya said. "I am _totally_ not through teasing you about that sweater. And as soon as we get back home, I'm emailing a copy of that picture to Edgeworth."

"Do that, and I'll tell Franziska about the time you put on a blue wig and pretended to be her."

"You wouldn't!"

"Try me."

"Well, I'll tell about the time when Pearl made you watch _The Little Mermaid_, and you cried!"

"I told you before, I wasn't crying because of the movie! I was crying because of...something else!"

"_Suuure_ you were..."

Phoenix and Maya went back and forth with teasing each other, all anger about Dahlia/Iris forgotten. As you may have noticed, best friends can't stay mad at each other for long—it's not allowed.

* * *

After leaving the visitor's room in jail, the two Pearls ended their investigation for the day. They then decided to visit Ema Skye in her dorm after getting some dinner.

Ema lived in Kepler Hall, the building with all the other science students (as well as one English major that was accidentally put in the wrong building).

"So your problem is that the guy of your dreams isn't paying attention to you," Older Pearl said.

"Scientifically speaking, yes."

"I've got the perfect solution for that problem. What's the one thing guys can't resist?"

"Cotton candy?" Younger Pearl guessed.

"Um...no," Pearl said.

Younger Pearl gasped. "You mean boys don't like cotton candy?"

"No, I mean, I'm sure some of them do."

"Cotton candy is delicious!" Pearly insisted.

"That's a scientific fact!" Ema said helpfully.

"How do you scientifically prove that cotton candy is delicious?" Pearl asked.

"With Science, of course!" Ema said.

"Right...if you're so into science, why are you focusing on Mr. Edgeworth? Why don't you try dating one of the science students here?"

"It's Science, not science," Ema corrected Pearl. "You have to capitalize it. That's a grammatical rule."

"No, it's not!" the English major called from the other side of the room.

"Shut up, Kevin!" Ema called back.

"You shut up!"

"See what the guys are like here?" Ema complained. "I _have_ to date Mr. Edgeworth! We're made for each other!"

"If Mr. Edgyworth is her special someone, they should be together," Younger Pearl said.

Older Pearl wasn't convinced.

"Are you _sure_ you're special someones, though? He _is_ a lot older than you."

"Yes!" Ema insisted. "Mr. Edgeworth is the best prosecutor ever! You should _see_ some of the other prosecutors! The just hired this new guy named Klavier who's like the most annoying person ever! He's got this stupid hairdo, and he's always talking down to me! Edgeworth is the only person who treats me like an adult!"

"Don't worry," Pearl said, interrupting the first of many rants Ema would give about Klavier Gavin during the course of her lifetime. "I think I've got a plan to help you win over Mr. Edgeworth..."

* * *

After talking, Phoenix and Maya decided to go to bed. It had been a long day.

"Okay, so where's my room?" Phoenix asked.

"You're staying with me," Maya said.

"But...there's only one bed in this room."

"This _is_ a couple's retreat," Maya said. "We're supposed to share it."

"Thanks a lot, Pearl..." Phoenix grumbled.

"You can always sleep outside if you want," Maya suggested.

"Sharing works for me," Phoenix said.

"Great. I'm going to change into my jammies now," Maya announced. "Don't look, Nick."

Phoenix was a gentleman and obediently stared at the wall until Maya said it was safe to turn around. When he did, he had to rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing things correctly, because Maya's outfit was a little...odd.

"You have Pink Princess Pajamas?" Phoenix asked.

"Yes."

"Is that a stuffed animal?"

"I call him Mister Monkey," Maya said, proudly. "Isn't he cute?"

"Um, sure, he's adorable," Phoenix said. "You're not planning on sleeping with it, are you?"

"With _him_," Maya said. "And I always go to sleep with Mr. Monkey. He helps keep away the nightmares."

"You can't seriously believe that," Phoenix complained. "Aren't you a little too old for stuffed animals?"

"You're the one who's old," Maya said dismissively.

"Right...well, I guess it's _my_ turn to change into my pajamas. No peeking."

Phoenix went to the corner of the room to change shirts.

"Ooo, you look hot with no shirt on! Why did Dahlia buy you a sweater to cover _that_ up?" Maya teased.

"_I said no peeking!_"

"It wasn't me! It was Mister Monkey!"

"Neither you _nor_ Mister Monkey can peek!"

"Aw..."

Once Phoenix had changed, he got into the bed and turned onto his side so he was facing Maya.

"Um...do you have to look at me?" Maya asked.

"I have to sleep on my side," Phoenix said. "I can't sleep on my back because of my hair. It tears holes in my pillows when I do that."

"Whatever," Maya said.

The room was silent for a minute as Phoenix and Maya started to go to sleep.

"Love you..." Maya mumbled.

Phoenix blinked. Did he hear her correctly?

"I love you too, Maya," he said.

"Huh?" Maya asked. "No, I wasn't talking to you, Nick. I was talking to Mr. Monkey."

"Oh."

"It's okay," Maya said sleepily. "I love you too, Nick."

* * *

"They haven't kissed _yet?_" Pearl asked. She stomped her foot on the ground. "No! No! No! NO! That's not how it's supposed to work!"

"I'm sorry," Sister Bikini's voice came from the speaker of Pearl's cell phone. "But if it's not meant to be, you shouldn't try to force it."

"Oh, they're meant to be together, all right!" Pearl insisted. "I remember the first time I met Nick when I was a little girl..."

_It was in the hallway of Kurain. Pearl was scared with all that was going on—Mystic Maya was accused of killing someone, and Pearl's mother was on the rampage when a kind, spiky-haired stranger appeared on the scene._

_"Hello," Phoenix said. "You must be Pearl, Mystic Maya's cousin! That means we're best friends!"_

_"We are?"_

_"Yes! I love Mystic Maya forever and always! We're soul mates! She's my special someone! I'm going to marry her someday!_

_"Awww..."_

_"So I'm going to love you, because that makes you a member of my family! I'll love you no matter what—even if you accidentally break Mystic Ami's vase with a ball, which is totally understandable, and nobody should blame you for it! All vases look the same, anyway!"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"I'm so glad you agree! Here's a lollipop for you! And here's fifty bucks to buy another vase!"_

_"Yay!"_

That might not be _exactly_ what happened with Phoenix first met Pearl, but she was sure that it was pretty close.

"He's in love with Maya! He told me so himself!"

"If that's the case, why does he keep denying it?"

"_I don't know!_ Guys are stupid like that! Look, we just have to try harder, that's all. What training do you have in store for them today?"

"I was going to have them take a long hike in the snow, and then some more waterfall meditation—they seemed to like it yesterday."

"Forget that. Go for Deep Kiss Training instead."

"But that's—!"

"I know what it is! Just go ahead and tell them they have to do it! Jeez!"

Pearl hung up her phone angrily.

"Is something wrong, Big Me?" Little Pearl asked.

"No, everything's perfect. Is Ema done yet?"

Pearly was going to comment on her older self sounded like Franziska von Karma for a moment there, but decided not to.

"I'm ready!" Ema called from inside the dressing room.

Pearl's plan to get Ema and Edgeworth together was relatively simple. All Ema needed to do was dress up to get his attention. Instead of wearing that constricting lab coat all day long, it was time for Ema to show some skin! And then cover every inch of that skin with pink ruffles.

Edgeworth liked pink ruffles.

So the general goal was to buy the biggest, fluffiest pink ruffliest dress they could find. That's why our heroines were going dress shopping.

Ema stepped out of the dressing room wearing an utterly gigantic pink dress. All the material probably could have been used to make four normal-sized dresses.

Pearl clapped her hands together. "You look like you stepped out of a Jane Austen story!" she said.

"Austin? What does Texas have to do with anything?"

"Never mind," Pearl said.

"It's hard to move in this," Ema pointed out. "And it's kind of—ouch!—big."

"You can't talk like that," Pearl ordered.

"What?"

"You're talking the way you normally do. If you're wearing a dress like that, you want to talk like a high-class Lady. You know, like in that one movie."

"_Lady and the Tramp?_" Little Pearl guessed.

"Um...Ah do naught know what mooo-vie you ahre talking aboot," Ema said, trying the fanciest accent she could think of. It was an odd mix of Southern belle, Victorian English and Canadian.

"That's perfect!" Pearl said. "When Mr. Edgeworth sees you like this, his eyes will fall right out of his sockets!"

"Ah daresay...that's jolly good...eh?" Ema asked.

"Now I just need to do your hair, and you'll be all set!" Pearl said.

* * *

"_Deep Kiss Training?_" Maya asked. "No way!"

"What's Deep Kiss Training?" Phoenix asked.

Maya whispered an explanation into Phoenix ear.

"Wauauauaagh!" Phoenix cried. "How on Earth does that help with _training?_"

"If the man—"

"Never mind! I don't wanna know!" Phoenix said. "All I know is that there is _no chance_ I'd do that with Maya! I wouldn't even do that to my _wife!_ Not unless she was...I mean, not ever!"

"It _is_ too much to ask of us," Maya said. "I mean, Nick and I don't like each other in that way."

"But it's part of the Couples' Training!" Sister Bikini said. "Pearl insisted that—"

"_Pearl_ wants us to do Deep Kiss Training?"

"_That_ explains it," Phoenix said. "Well, you can tell Pearl I'd rather marry Edgeworth than do that with Maya."

Maya nodded. "Yeah. I'd like to marry Edgeworth, too."

Phoenix glanced at Maya.

"What? He's hot!"

"Maya!"

"Just kidding, Nick!"

Sister Bikini shrugged. The Deep Kiss Training wasn't her idea, anyway. "Well, in that case, we can go with my original plan. Come on, we're hiking up to the top of the mountain!"

"Yay!" Maya said.

"Much better," Phoenix agreed.

* * *

Ema headed to the Prosecutor's Office in her large dress, and in the "authentic" hairdo that took Pearl thirty minutes to set in place.

With any luck, nobody else would be there because it was Saturday, so she and Edgeworth could be all alone...

She knocked on the door to his office before entering.

"Fraziska, you're early—"

"Haillo, Mr. Ejjjworf," Ema said. "Or should I say..._Miles?_"

Edgeworth blinked. That was not Franziska von Karma. Who on Earth was this strange woman?

"You ahre looking very hhhhansom today, eh, eh?"

Edgeworth stared at her for a while until it clicked. That was Ema Skye.

Apparently, she had stolen a circus tent and wrapped it around herself, and was attempting to throw the authorities off track by pretending not to be a native English speaker.

As for her hair...she must have been in a catastrophic accident at the local hair salon and barely managed to escape with her life.

"Miss Skye, are you okay?"

"Ah'm fi-i-ine becoos I'm with you, dahhhlink."

"You're not okay. Let me call your sister. She can help."

"NO!" Ema shouted. "I mean, Miles, please. Let's talk, eh? Ah've beeen wanting to talk t'yoo for a lahng time."

She turned to sit down on his sofa, but she ended up smashing into Edgeworth's desk and knocking it over.

"Stupid large dress!" Ema said.

Edgeworth went pale, not that you could tell the difference. "What on Earth—?"

"Oh, Miles! It haaaas been years. What do you thi-ink aboot me?"

"I think you must be running a fever."

"_A fever? _ You're supposed to say you love me! Scientifically speaking, of course."

"Ms. Skye. You come into my office with your hair done up like a billygoat, wearing a dress large enough to house a small zoo, and talking like a maniac. Either you are running a fever, have gone temporarily insane, or Phoenix Wright is somehow involved. I demand an explanation."

"I...I...no! Arrgh!"

Ema burst into tears and ran out of Edgeworth's office. While running down the hallway, she hit two people who were having a conversation in German.

"Watch where you're going, fool!" Franziska von Karma snapped.

"Sorry!"

"Zat dress...zat hair...the fraulein has gone crazy, ya?" Klavier Gavin asked.

"Leave me alone, you glimmerous fop!" Ema shouted. She smashed him into the wall with her dress—finally, the large dress was good for _something_—and continued leaving the building.

Klavier recovered after a few seconds and, in German, asked Franziska what _glimmerous fop_ meant. Franziska shrugged and answered that Americans are very strange.

* * *

With the end of the weekend came bad news for Pearl.

When Lana Skye heard about the stunt Ema had pulled, she because worried and decided to send Ema back to Europe for her college education, in order to avoid "any further incidents".

And when Phoenix and Maya returned from Hazakura, they said they had a few great heart-to-heart talks, and were now better best friends than ever. _Best friends?_ They were supposed to have done Couples' Training, not _Best Friends_ Training!

Pearl frowned. She was the worst matchmaker ever.


	8. The Date Auction

_Eight Days Later..._

Maya came into the law office, bouncing up and down on her heels. She was in a _very_ good mood.

"Pearl, you won't believe what just happened to me!" she said.

"What?"

"I went to the local burger shop like normal, and the really hot guy who works there..._asked me out!_"

"Oh no!"

Maya was squeeing with joy.

"But Maya! What about Nick?"

"Huh? What _about_ Nick?"

"Aren't you, I mean, he...what will he say?"

"Oh," Maya said. She thought for a moment. "I don't think Nick will notice. He's been kind of absent-minded lately, ever since he heard that they're letting Iris out of prison soon."

Maya clapped her hands together. "Did I show you the picture of Nick and Iris together? He looked like such a dork!"

"But _Maaaaya!_ Nick's your special someone! You can't cheat on him for some burger guy!"

"Some _really hot_ burger guy! I wonder if he gets a staff discount..."

"Hold it!" Pearl cried, but it was too late. Maya was dancing in La-La Land.

* * *

During her break, Pearl called her younger self in Kurain so they could have an emergency meeting of the _Get Mister Nick and Mystic Maya to Start Dating_ _Club_.

"Mystic Maya's seeing another man? No! You have to tell her that Mister Nick is her special someone!"

"I did, but she didn't listen! She's too distracted by the fact that he's hot and he can give her free burgers whenever she wants!"

"Oh no! This isn't good, Big Me! You have to stop them!"

"How? No matter what I do, Maya's free to go out with anyone she wants!"

"Well, she shouldn't be! You should make her date Mister Nick only!"

"How do you force two people to go out when they don't want to...?" Pearl wondered. "Maybe I could...no...no...no, wait, I have it! A date auction!"

"What?"

"It's brilliant! Thanks for the idea, Little Me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Little Pearl said.

"There's no time to explain," Pearl said. "I've got to set my plan in motion!"

Pearl hung up the phone and ran out of the office.

"Big Me can be weird sometimes..." Pearly said to herself.

* * *

Pearl's plan was simple...kind of. She just needed to enroll Phoenix in some kind of date auction. Then, she'd fix it so that Maya won the date with Nick, and then they'd _have_ to go out!

That was why Pearl was now trying to convince Chief Prosecutor Lana Skye that they desperately needed to hold a date auction for lawyers.

"We don't need to hold any fundraisers," Lana said. "We're actually over-budget this year."

"But when I mentioned it to the people here, everyone seemed really enthusiastic about the idea!" Pearl lied. "They'll be disappointed if you don't go through with it!"

Lana looked to the side. "You are Pearl Fey, correct?"

"Yes."

"The same Pearl Fey who turned my younger sister insane in some sort of bizarre matchmaking scheme?"

"Yes, I mean, no! It wasn't bizarre! It was a really good plan! She just didn't do the accent correctly!"

Lana spun around in her chair so her back was facing Pearl. "You may be out of college, but I think you need to grow up a little, Pearl Fey. You need to learn a lesson about not interfering in other people's lives."

"But—!"

Lana quickly spun around in her chair. "All right. I'll do it."

"What?"

"We'll hold the date auction."

"Really? That's great!"

"And the first person up for auction will be you."

"_Whaaaaaaat??_"

Lana smiled. "I think that might help you learn your lesson."

* * *

_Again, eight days later..._

"Hey, I think they're going to start the auction now, Pal!" Detective Gumshoe said.

"This is going to be great!" Phoenix said to Maya.

"I know!" she said.

Our friends had been given free tickets to the dinner/date auction, and were really starting to enjoy themselves. Phoenix was happy to see Pearl get her just reward, Maya was happy because it meant she got the night off, and Gumshoe was just happy to get a free meal.

"Anyone special you're going to bid on?" Maya asked.

"Nah," Gumshoe said.

"That's because Franziska's out of the country..." Phoenix joked.

Maya and Phoenix laughed.

"But seriously, Gumshoe and I thought we'd bid on Pearl," Phoenix said.

"_Whaaat?_"

"Not to win! We just want to boost her self esteem by showing her how much she's worth to us!"

"Oh. I guess that's okay then."

The announcer took the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, now for the main event of the night...the Lawyers Date Auction! Win a date with one of our district's best legal minds! What do you say, Chief Prosecutor Skye?"

"No objection, Your Honor!" Lana cried.

Everyone laughed.

"Our first date up for bid is Pearl Fey! She's currently working at the Wright & Co. Law Offices, is twenty-two years old, and is rumored to be a fantastic dancer! Do I hear any starting bids?"

"Fifty cents!" Phoenix called.

"A dollar and twenty-three cents!" Detective Gumshoe cried.

"Guys!" Maya scolded.

* * *

Backstage, one of the prosecutors peeked out from behind the curtains to see what the crowd was like.

"Table #23 seems amused," he announced.

"Let me guess. That's the table where Wright and his friends are sitting," Edgeworth said.

"Yep."

"Does Wright know that the reason he got free tickets is because _he's_ up for auction?"

"Probably not."

"This should be interesting..."

* * *

"And that's a seventy dollar bid from Dr. Hotti! Anyone else?"

The crowd was silent.

"No!" Pearl cried. "Please, somebody else make a bid!"

"Eighty dollars!" someone from Table 4 shouted.

"Thank you," Pearl whispered. Too early, it would seem.

"Okay, eighty dollars! Going once, going twice, _SOLD_ to Sal Minella!"

Pearl caught a glimpse of her new date waving at her and winking suggestively.

"Noooooooooo!!!" she cried dramatically.

* * *

Once the money was paid and the (_ugh!!_) preparations for the (_UGH!!_) date were complete, Pearl made her way back to Phoenix's table.

"She's twenty-six years old, she works at the Marvin Grossberg Law Offices...Tina Shambrell!"

_Ooo, she's pretty!_ Phoenix thought.

"A dollar and twenty-three cents!" Detective Gumshoe cried.

"Hey, guys," Pearl said, looking depressed.

"Pearl! Sit down!" Maya invited.

"Fifteen dollars!" Phoenix cried.

"What?" Pearl asked. "You can't bid on her, Nick! I met her backstage! She's stuck-up!"

"Twenty dollars from Table 5!"

"Thirty!" Phoenix cried.

"Thirty! Thank you, Table #23! Anyone else?"

"Forty!" someone in the crowd cried.

"Forty from Table #7! Do I hear fifty?"

"Fif—" Phoenix started to say, before Pearl clamped her hand over Phoenix's mouth. The two of them struggled for a moment, but Pearl won in the end.

"Going twice! Sold to Table #7 for forty dollars!"

"Pearl! You made me lose the auction!" Phoenix complained.

"She's all wrong for you, Mr. Nick," Pearl said.

"You're just saying that because she's not Maya," Phoenix said.

"Exactly," Pearl nodded.

"Her hairdo was silly, anyway," Maya said.

"This coming from the girl with the top knot," Phoenix said.

"Hey!"

Gumshoe smiled. "Hey, don't worry about it, Pal! I lost, too!"

"True. I suppose we can't _all_ get fantastic dates like Sal Minella, huh, Pearl? You lucky dog!"

Phoenix, Maya and Gumshoe all laughed, but Pearl didn't think it was very funny.

* * *

"Has been a stenographer for the past ten years...Kathleen Anderson!"

"A dollar and twenty-three cents!" Gumshoe cried.

"Why do you keep bidding a buck twenty-three on every girl?" Phoenix wondered.

"That's all the money I have right now," Gumshoe said.

"Oh."

* * *

Overall, Phoenix and Gumshoe had a blast, even if they didn't win any dates.

"All right, fellas, it's game over for you! Ladies, it's _your_ turn to start bidding! We're going to auction off all the male lawyers!"

Maya cheered loudly.

"First off is a well-known fixture at the Prosecutor's Office, he was nicknamed 'The Rookie Killer' for his legal prowess back in the day...Prosecutor Winston Payne! Do I hear one hundred dollars?"

No one said anything.

"Fifty dollars?"

Again, silence.

"Twenty dollars? Ten? Five? One dollar?"

"One penny!" Maya called.

"Sold to Table #23!" the announcer cried.

Phoenix and Gumshoe stared at Maya. "You bought a date with Winston Payne?"

"It's not for me," Maya said. "It's for Pearl."

"No way!" Pearl said.

"Just in case things don't work out with Sal," Maya said, winking.

"The next time I get a brilliant idea like holding a date auction, I'm going to keep it to myself," Pearl grumbled.

* * *

"It's too bad Godot isn't up for bid," Maya said. "I would have won him for Mia."

"I'm sure she would have appreciated it," Phoenix said. "Now be quiet. I don't want to miss this."

"He's twenty-six years old...Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth!"

Over half the women in the audience screamed.

"FIFTY DOLLARS!"

"A HUNDRED!"

"A THOUSAND!"

What happened next is what police officers generally refer to as "a riot". A crowd of crazed fangirls mobbed the stage, screaming out high prices and trying to grab Edgeworth. Punches quickly ensued.

"Why does _Edgeworth_ get all the fangirls?" Phoenix complained.

"Probably because his hair isn't pointy," Maya suggested.

"Thanks a lot, Maya."

"Anytime, Nick."

"_Heeeelp!_" Edgeworth cried, as one girl tried to steal his jacket.

"Get out of my way, you whippersnapper!" screamed Wendy Oldbag. "Edgey-poo is all mine!"

It took ten minutes before things settled down completely.

"Okay," the announcer said, wiping his forehead off with a napkin. "Next year, Edgeworth is going to be put on the _silent_ auction."

"I don't think I'll participate next year," Edgeworth said.

"I don't blame you. In any case, Mr. Edgeworth has been sold, for $800, to a...what was your name again, dear?"

"Mrs. Miles Edgeworth."

"...Right. Sold for eight hundred dollars! Thank you so much for supporting our legal system. Next up is one of our brightest defense attorneys, he's twenty-six years old and he's already the head of the Wright & Co. Law Offices...Phoenix Wright!"

"_Whaaaaat?_" Phoenix cried.

"Didn't I mention?" Pearl said. "I signed you up for the auction."

"No way. I'm not doing this."

"Phoenix Wright? Come up here, please, and let the audience get a good look at you!"

"Have fun!" Pearl said, smiling as she pushed Phoenix towards the stage.

"Ah, here he is! Phoenix Wright, everyone! Can you believe he's still single, ladies? Not for long, though! How much will you bid for him?"

"Ten dollars!"

"Twenty!"

"Forty!" Lana Skye cried.

"Ooo, Lana likes Nick," Maya said. "I didn't see _that_ coming!"

"Maya, you have to bid!" Pearl said.

"Huh? I'm not going to bid for Nick."

"But you have to!"

"I'm not going to pay to spend time with Nick." Maya grinned mischievously. "I can get him to take me out for burgers anytime I want!"

"Going once, going twi—"

"Sixty!" Pearl cried. "Sorry, Maya! If you won't bid, I'll bid for you!"

"Seventy!" Lana cried.

"Eighty!" Pearl countered.

Lana Skye smiled to herself. She knew exactly what was going on—Pearl Fey was determined to win that date, no matter what. Even if I meant having to pay...

"Two hundred dollars!" Lana cried.

_Woah..._ Phoenix thought. _I knew she was grateful for me being her lawyer two years ago, but I didn't know she was __that__ grateful..._

"Two hundred and ten!" Pearl cried.

"Pearl, you don't have to do this," Maya said. "It doesn't matter if Nick goes out with Lana."

"I _have _to! Mister Nick is your special someone!"

"Three hundred!"

"Three hundred and ten!"

"Two thousand!" Lana shouted.

Pearl cringed. "Two thousand and ten!"

"Two thousand for _Wright?_" Edgeworth wondered. "Has the Chief Prosecutor gone mad? I only sold for eight hundred!"

"Five thousand!"

"Five thousand and ten!"

Lana fell silent.

"Five thousand and ten dollars!" the announcer said. "Chief Skye, are you going to up your bid again?"

"No thanks," Lana said.

"Okay...five thousand ten, going once, going twice...SOLD to Table #23!"

"Congrats on winning, Pal!" Gumshoe said to Pearl.

Pearl grinned sheepishly. "Um...can either of you guys loan me some money? I don't _have_ five thousand dollars..."

Gumshoe scratched his head in confusion. It was the first time in his life that someone had asked _him_ for money.

* * *

Pearl slowly made her way to the payment area, where Lana Skye and Phoenix were waiting for her.

"Five thousand dollars? Pearl!" Phoenix said. "I know you like me, but I don't think of you in that way!"

"It's not for me. It's for Maya," Pearl said.

"Of course," Phoenix said, rolling his eyes.

"And how will you be paying for this?" Lana asked, smiling.

"I guess I'll write a check..." Pearl muttered.

"Let me guess. You don't _have_ five thousand dollars."

"Nope," Pearl said. It wasn't her fault, though. The manager at the bank refused to believe that she had come from a future where her back account was much larger, so she ended up losing pretty much all of the money she used to have.

"That's okay," Lana said. "I thought we could come with some _other_ way for you to pay off your debt."

Phoenix stared at Lana in surprise. When did she become so devious?

"You set up that bidding war on purpose," Phoenix said. "Why?"

"Why? That should be obvious. Did you hear about what Pearl forced Ema to do last month?"

Phoenix groaned. _That_ didn't sound good. "No, I didn't. What'd she do _this_ time?"

"You'd better sit down. You're going to enjoy this."

* * *

So Pearl came out of the date auction with a date with Winston Payne, another date with Sal Minella, a $5010 debt, and on top of that, she was grounded by Phoenix (again).

Phoenix, Maya and Gumshoe all had a great time at the event, and agreed that they were looking forward to next year's auction.

Pearl didn't agree.

The date auction wasn't an _entire_ failure for Pearl, though. Phoenix and Maya's $5010 date was a total success! Well, a half-success, really, but that still counts!

You see, Phoenix didn't want to encourage Pearl, so he insisted that the date was not a "date" date. Instead of going to a fancy restaurant, Phoenix and Maya went to their normal burger joint. This ended up being a very bad idea, because they ran into Chad, the really hot burger shop employee who asked Maya out.

Chad was not happy to learn that Maya was on a date with someone else. He called Maya and Phoenix some nasty names, and dumped a whole bottle of ketchup over Phoenix's head.

"That's what you get for messing around with another guy's girl, you [really bad name]!" he told Phoenix.

Then he slapped Maya.

"That's what _you_ get for cheating on me, you stupid [even worse name]!" he told Maya.

That was when Phoenix and Maya left the burger joint.

* * *

Phoenix and Maya walked back home together.

"Well, that was pretty much the worst date ever," Phoenix complained. "It's going to take me forever to get this ketchup out of my hair. You know how hard it is to wash pointy hair?"

"I'm sorry, Nick," Maya said sadly. "I guess I ruined it."

"_You_ didn't ruin it. The crazy guy did."

"Yeah, but it's my fault he got mad."

"Maya, he's a jerk. You don't need to make excuses for him."

Maya sniffed loudly. "What he said...I've never been called that before."

"It's not true," Phoenix immediately assured her. "You're not a bad person. You're one of the best people I know."

Maya was silent for a moment.

"Aw, don't feel bad," he said, giving her a sideways hug. "What happened isn't your fault. You know that, right?"

"I know..."

"So what's wrong?"

"Well, now that this happened...I won't be able to get burgers from there again!"

Phoenix's jaw dropped. "_That's_ what you're upset about?"

"What do you mean, '_That's_ what you're upset about?'? That's a huge deal, Nick! It's the closest burger place to the office!"

"Right..."

Maya muttered something about Phoenix and his utter lack of understanding in the world of burgers.

"If you're _that_ worried about it, you could always summon Mia and have her buy burgers for you," Phoenix suggested.

"That's brilliant!" Maya said, hugging Phoenix. "Thanks Nick!"

"You're welcome."

Maya smiled at her business partner. "You're the best, Nick! Sorry our date wasn't any fun."

Then she kissed him on the cheek.

"Ew. You taste like ketchup," she said.


	9. Pearl and Maya's Bogus Journey

_The next day..._

"Okay, Pearl," Phoenix said. "Once you're finished scrubbing the toilets here, you can go to the Prosecutor's Office. Lana says the toilets there need cleaning, too. All twenty of them."

Pearl muttered angrily. You'd think the girl who saved the future would get a _little_ bit more respect, but no. She was being forced to clean the Wright & Co. Law Offices _and_ the High Prosecutor's Office for the rest of the year to pay off her debt.

"Well, I have to go," Phoenix said. "Maya, don't use this as an excuse to close the office early and watch the Pink Princess like you did last week."

"I'd _never_ do that," Maya said innocently. "Where are you off to, Nick?"

"Iris is being released today," he said, blushing slightly. "I thought I'd...go see her."

"Phoenix and Iris, sittin' in a tree..." Maya sang.

Pearl growled as she scrubbed furiously. She had learned all about Iris' backstory by now. Iris was apparently her half-sister and Phoenix's old girlfriend, and now the two of them were probably going to get back together and ruin all of Pearl's dreams of Phoenix and Maya getting married.

The worst part was that if Pearl even _thought_ about interfering, she'd be cleaning bathrooms for the rest of her life.

"Maya? What do you think about Iris?"

"I'm not sure," Maya said. "She _seems_ like a nice person, but I don't really know her that well."

"Do you think she's the right girlfriend for Nick?"

"_Girlfriend?_" Maya asked. "Why, is Nick...he's not...?"

"No, I just thought...maybe...what _if_ they decide to get back together?"

"I, uh...I guess that's really none of our business," Maya said.

"None of our business? You're his special someone! What he does with other girls _is_ your business!"

"Nick is not my boyfriend, Pearl."

"He should be! You two are the perfect couple, and you know it!"

"He's my _boss!_ And besides, he's seven years older than me."

"Age makes no difference when it's true love..." Pearl sighed happily.

"You watch too many soap operas," Maya said. "Look, Nick can go out with Iris if he wants. I don't care."

"But what if she turns out to be really, really bad for him? Like, what if she tries to kill him, just like her twin sister did?"

Maya's hands balled into fists. "Then I'll make sure she never comes near Nick again!"

Pearl clapped her hands together in happiness. "You _do_ care about him!"

"Okay, I do," Maya admitted. "But not in _that_ way."

"Are you sure? When you kissed him last night, didn't your heart go wild with joy?"

"How—how did you...?"

"I was spying on you two last night."

"Pearl! You shouldn't do that!"

"...Sorry..."

Maya seemed somewhat upset with Pearl.

"Well, in any case, I don't know what Nick and Iris are like together, so I can't make any judgments about whether or not they're good for each other. Now hurry up with cleaning the bathroom. When you're done, I'm closing the office early so I can watch the Pink Princess."

* * *

As Pearl drove to the Prosecutor's Office, she tried to imagine what Phoenix and Iris' reunion would be like.

_The door opens, and Iris steps out. Phoenix is waiting for her._

_"I knew you'd be here," she says._

_"Nothing would keep me away," he breathes. "Nothing. You do realize that I didn't stop loving you after you left, right?"_

_"I know. I had to deal with the same pain."_

_"Why didn't you come to me, then? Why didn't you tell me it was you?"_

_"I'm sorry. I couldn't! Dahlia threatened to kill me..."_

_"She's gone now, Iris. She's gone, and now you have a whole new life ahead of you."_

_Iris wraps her arms around Phoenix._

_"We'll have to make up for lost time, Feenie."_

_Their heads move close together, their lips touch for the first time in years, and it's as if no time has passed at all..._

"AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Pearl screamed. "This can't be happening! Mystic Maya is supposed to be Mister Nick's special someone, not Iris!"

Pearl wasn't about to let her childhood dream die. Not yet.

But what could she do?

* * *

Pearl went to Kurain that night. She didn't want to stay in LA, the horrible place where Phoenix and Iris were probably kissing each other's brains out and making wedding plans.

Actually, Phoenix and just had dinner together before he took her back to Hazakura. They did a lot of talking, but no kissing. Pearl, of course, didn't know that.

The two Pearls made a list of their problems.

**Problem #1.** Nick is too old to be Maya's boyfriend.  
**Problem #2.** Nick and Iris are going to get back together.

"What does 'back together' mean?" Younger Pearl asked.

"It means they used to be special someones," Pearl explained, using language her younger self would understand.

Pearly put a hand to her mouth. "Really? Sister Iris and Mister Nick were special someones?"

"It was a long time ago, but now she's back, and he wants to be her special someone again."

"Oh..." Pearly said, thinking. "That's...that's hard to figure out! Mister Nick should be Mystic Maya's special someone, but if he's Iris' special someone..."

"It's been five years," Pearl complained. "Why can't love come with an expiration date?"

"What's an expiration date?" Pearly asked.

"Wait a minute...five years..."

Pearl looked at the list of problems again. What if...what if she could do Mystic Mia's best lawyer trick and turn things around?

"_Turnabout Time!_" Pearl cheered. "I can solve both these problems at the same time!"

"Really? How?"

"I came here with a time machine, right? I'll just go back _five years in time!_ That way, Mr. Nick will be closer to Maya's age, _and_ he won't have met Iris yet!"

"Yay!" Pearly cheered. She didn't quite understand what was going on, but she knew it was good news.

* * *

"Maya, you know what you were saying yesterday? About how you didn't know what Iris and Nick were like together?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, I know how you can find out."

"How?"

"We can spy on them together."

"I should probably warn Nick about your stalker tendencies," Maya said. "You know that if you keep spying on him, he's eventually going to catch you and get really mad."

"No, you don't understand. I know how we can spy on him and never get caught."

"How?"

"With my time machine! We go back in time to when Nick first met Iris. He won't know who we are, so we can spy on them all we want!"

Maya thought for a moment. It seemed like a bad idea, but she really _did_ want to see what Nick was really like back then...and it wouldn't hurt anything if all they did was watch, right?

"I've always wanted to time travel! Let's go!"

* * *

_Five Years Earlier..._

_The Courthouse Complex..._

"Are you sure we went to the past? Everything looks the same!" Maya said.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now stop talking about us being from the future," Pearl said. "We could seriously disrupt the timeline."

"Blah blah blah," Maya said. "So, where are we supposed to go?"

Pearl wasn't sure. There were a lot of courtrooms and waiting lobbies in the complex, not to mention the library, office rooms and cafeteria. Pearl suddenly realized that she should have been more specific when asked Phoenix _where_ he first met Dahlia/Iris.

"I don't know," Pearl said. "Maybe we could walk around and get lucky?"

The two of them tried wandering around, with no success until Maya happened to notice someone familiar.

"Wow, look!" Maya said, pointing. "It's my sister!"

"Mystic Mia!" Pearl said. "She's here!"

_That's right, Mystic Mia is still alive in this time_, Pearl thought.

These words caught Mia's ear, and she turned to face the person who spoke them. "Mystic Mia?"

"Oops!"

Mia, of course, instantly recognized the acolyte robes the strangers were wearing. "You two are spirit mediums," she said. "Do I know you?"

"Yeah!" Maya said enthusiastically. "You're my—!"

Pearl smashed her elbow into Maya's side. "HERO!" she said loudly. "You're our hero. We want to be as good as you are someday!"

"Thank you," Mia said. "I didn't know I had fans in the spirit medium world."

"Oh, yeah, you're awesome," Maya said, nodding.

The man with Mia tilted his head to the side and took a sip from his coffee mug. "How nice, Kitten. Why don't you talk with your friends here while I interrogate the suspect?"

"Diego, I'm coming with you."

"No," the man said. "I told you earlier, I want to talk to Ms. Hawthorne alone."

"Dahlia Hawthorne?" Maya gasped. If this was the day when Nick first met Dahlia, that meant it was also the day Mr. Armando...

Uh oh.

"Don't go, Mia!" Maya begged. "_Please!_"

Mia was taken aback by this complete stranger—who looked a little like her sister Maya, now that she thought about it—who seemed so desperate to talk to her.

"I guess I don't _have_ to go," Mia said.

"That's the spirit," Diego said. "I'll see you later."

* * *

Maya and Pearl distracted Mia for a good twenty minutes by asking her various spirit medium-related questions, like why the Spirit Severing Technique is least effective the first time a particular spirit is summoned.

When Mia's cell phone rang, they used it as an excuse to end the conversation. They thanked her heartily for her help, and left the room quickly.

Maya was feeling pretty good about saving her sister's life. (She didn't know that even if she hadn't shown up, Mia still wouldn't have gone with Diego to see Dahlia Hawthorne.)

Pearl was less happy.

"We shouldn't have done that, Maya. What if that changes the timeline forever?"

"Chill out, Pearl. I'm supposed to be the responsible one, remember?"

"No, you're not. _I'm_ three years older than you."

"Whatever. Nothing bad is going to happen because—"

"_AAAAAAAAA! HELP! There's a dead body here!!!_" someone screamed from the next room.

"...I think they found Mr. Armando," Maya said.

"Who?" Pearl asked.

"I'll explain later. Look, we—"

The scream from the next room was joined by another scream, this one even louder. Then there were more screams and a general stampede. In the chaos, Maya and Pearl got separated.

So Maya wandered off towards the library. She normally didn't like libraries because they wanted her to be quiet all the time, but a quiet place was probably the best place to go with all the screaming going on, and...

_::Gasp!::_

Phoenix was there. Younger Phoenix. He was laughing and talking to a red-haired girl who he obviously thought was cute.

_That must be Dahlia..._ Maya thought, and shuddered. She could still remember what it felt like to have Dahlia inside her body for over a day.

Dahlia undid the necklace around her neck and held it up.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!" Maya shouted. "_Leave Nick alone!_"

Everyone at the library turned to look at Maya, but she didn't care. She had to save Nick! He saved _her_ life so many times, she had to return the favor!

Maya ran over to Phoenix and threw her arms around him. "You hussy! Stay away from my boyfriend!" she said.

"_B-boyfriend?_"

Dahlia smiled a fake smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't know he had a boyfriend."

Phoenix, to his credit, resisted the urge to ask Maya, "Who are you?". This is probably because for the first time in his life, two cute girls were arguing over the right to date him.

_Why isn't Larry here to see this?_ Phoenix wondered. _The one time I don't want him to be late, and he's nowhere to be found..._

"I saw you!" Maya said. "You were going to give him that necklace as a token of your affection, weren't you? _Weren't you?_"

Phoenix found the courage to speak. "But you're not my—"

Maya stopped Phoenix from talking by grabbing his head and giving him a long, deep kiss. _I sure hope Pearl isn't watching this..._ she thought.

Then she thought _Wow. Nick is horrible at kissing. Hasn't he ever kissed a girl before?_

_Wow, my first kiss!_ Phoenix thought.

Dahlia looked around. All eyes in the library were on them, and the last thing she needed right now were witnesses.

"I'm terribly sorry," Dahlia said, smiling insincerely. "This is all a huge misunderstanding. I'll just leave now."

She hurried away, muttering to herself. Now she had to find _another_ idiot to give the necklace to, and time was running out...

"Woah..." Phoenix said. "That was really great, uh..."

"Maya."

"I'm Phoenix Wright, but you can Nick. Can I call you...uh..._My_ Maya?"

"Um, no. That's a dumb nickname," Maya said. "I have to go now. See you later, Nick."

"Wait! Does this mean...I mean, are you...my girlfriend?" Phoenix's eyes were shining. "I've never had a girlfriend before!"

"I'm sorry, Nick," Maya said. "But I can't spend any time with you. I only came here to save you from Dahlia, and now that's over, I have to go back where I came from."

"Maya, my-a guardian angel..." Phoenix sighed.

_Wow. He really __was__ a dork when he was in college. Who knew?_ Maya thought.

"I have some advice, though, Nick. You're deciding on a major, right?"

"Uh huh."

"Forget art history. Go for being a lawyer. And make sure to get to know Mia Fey. She'll help you out a lot."

"Will I ever see you again?" Phoenix asked.

"We'll see each other in about five years. Don't get in any trouble between now and then, okay?"

"Okay!"

* * *

Maya was feeling pretty good about herself. She had gone into the past and saved her sister _and_ Nick. This was just like the movie she saw, except cooler because it was true and _she_ was the heroine!

Maya found Pearl outside the building.

"Maya! I was so worried!" Pearl said. "Did anything go wrong?"

"Everything went perfectly!" Maya said.

"Oh no, Maya! You didn't interfere with the timeline, did you?"

"Who, me? Of course not! I'd never change the timeline to save someone's life!"

Pearl shot Maya a mean look. "Maya, I'm serious. If you changed anything, the results could be disastrous! You have to tell me now! We can always go back an hour and tell our time-travelling selves _not_ to enter the courthouse!"

"That would lead to a time paradox that would make the whole universe explode," Maya said. "I saw that in a movie once."

"This isn't a movie," Pearl said. "Real time-travel doesn't work like that. Now answer my question. Did you make any big changes to the future?"

Maya thought for a moment.

"No, I think the future is going to be okay."

"Good," Pearl breathed a sigh of relief. "In that case, let's get back to when we came from. This whole trip was kind of a failure."

"I got to talk to my sister again," Maya said. "It was _so_ not a failure!"

* * *

Inside the courthouse, Dahlia was making a move on her next unsuspecting victim.

"Here's something for you to remember me by," she said, holding up her necklace.

"Awesome! Thanks!" Larry Butz said. "So, we'll see each other on Friday?"

"You can bet," Dahlia smiled. "Bye, Lar Bear."

"Bye, Dolly!"

_And I thought coming to the courthouse to see Nick would be a waste of time!_ Larry thought.

* * *

_Five Years Later..._

The first big change Maya noticed were her clothes.

"Woah! Why am I wearing a fluffy yellow dress?" she asked.

"I must have overshot our location..." Pearl figured. "Time navigation can be trick, you know."

"I don't own a dress like this," Maya said. "And why are we outside a church?"

"I've got it!" Pearl said. "You're at a wedding, and that's a bridesmaid's dress!"

"Really? I'm not planning on going to any weddings soon," Maya said.

"Maybe you and Nick decided to elope!"

"You're crazy, Pearl."

"No, that's it! I went a few months into the future, where you and Nick finally realize you're perfect for each other!"

"If that's true, why am I wearing a brides_maid_ dress?"

"I dunno. Maybe you have really bad taste in wedding gowns!"

"Okay, whatever. There's really only one way to find out what's going on," Maya said. She opened the door of the church and went inside.

It _was_ a wedding. Phoenix was on the altar, looking smarmy in his tuxedo, and standing next to him, looking very beautiful, was...

"Do you, Phoenix Wright, take Mia Fey to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do," Phoenix said.

Pearl screamed as loudly as she could before dropping into a dead faint.


	10. Back to the Future

Mia rolled her eyes. Typical Maya. Somehow, she managed to sneak outside the church instead of being a bridesmaid, and she had found a strange girl who screamed and fainted. Why was Maya always getting into trouble?

"Don't worry, I'll take care of this," Little Pearl said, rolling up her sleeves. "You two just keep getting married, okay?"

"I'll go with her," Misty Fey said.

Pearly marched to the back of the church, with Misty Fey in tow.

"Mystic Maya! You're supposed to be the bridesmaid! What are you doing back here? You're going to ruin everything for Mister Nick and Mystic Mia!"

"Who's this?" Misty asked.

"_Mom?_" Maya asked. "Mom!"

Maya hugged her mother for the first time in over sixteen years.

"Mom, you're back from wherever you were! Now you can live with us in Kurain, and we can be a family again!"

"Is Mystic Maya feeling okay?" Pearly asked.

"Yes, do you have a fever?" Misty asked. "I came back to Kurain over a year ago."

"Um, right!" Maya said. "I knew that! I just forgot for a moment."

"I see." Misty pointed to Pearl's unconscious body. "Who is she?"

"Uh...uh...this is my friend Pearl!" Maya said. "I invited her to come see the wedding."

"Why did she scream and faint?"

"She's weird like that," Maya said, putting on a smile that said _I'm giving a big smile, which means I have to be telling the truth_.

Misty frowned. Maya was hiding something, but now was definitely _not_ the time to find out what.

"We'll talk about this later," she promised. "In the meantime, if you have any other strange friends, sneak them in _after_ the wedding."

* * *

Pearl woke up five minutes later. It took her approximately 1.2 seconds to get mad at Maya.

"_What did you do?_" she hissed.

"Nothing," Maya lied.

"You changed the future so Nick marries Mia? _That's not nothing!_"

"Okay, so maybe I changed a teensy little bit," Maya admitted.

"_What did you do?_"

"I stopped Nick from meeting Dahlia. And...I kinda told him to meet my sister."

"You set up Nick with Mia?"

"I said _meet_ her, not _marry_ her!"

"Well, obviously, that's what Nick is doing! We have to go back and change this!"

"No! Look, my mom and my sister are still alive in this world! And Nick seems happy, too! Let's give this world a shot!"

"No way. Nuh uh."

"But if we leave now, we'll miss out on the wedding cake!" Maya protested. "And besides, in this new world, you're not grounded..."

Pearl thought about that for a moment.

"Okay, _maybe_ we can stay for the wedding party. But after that, we're outta here, go it?"

* * *

Maya and Pearl were seated together with Iris at the wedding reception.

"Hello, I'm Sister Iris," Iris said.

"I'm Pearl Fey," Pearl said.

Iris blinked. "That's the name of my little sister."

"What an amazing coincidence!" Pearl said.

"I remember when I first met Mia," Phoenix was telling the crowd. "It was five years ago. I was investigating the death of my friend Larry Butz. Mia was investigating a serial killer named Dahlia Hawthorne. The two investigations brought us together..."

"Is that what happened...?" Maya wondered out loud.

"Oh yes, it's true," Sister Iris said. "I heard all about Dahlia Hawthorne. She was a really bad person. It's a good thing I never met her."

"Never met—?"

"What happened to her?" Pearl interrupted.

"They executed her six months ago. I heard she tried to get out of it by saying she was someone else." Iris smiled. "It's amazing what crazy stories criminals will come up with to protect themselves, isn't it?"

To anyone else, Iris' words would have seemed perfectly normal. But to people like Maya and Pearl who knew that Dahlia and Iris were twins, these words were a large warning sign that something fishy was going on. Plus, the smile on Iris' face was a little too cruel for their tastes...

Maya reached over and pulled out one of Iris' hairs.

"Ow! Maya, why did you do that?"

Maya held up the hair for Pearl to see. It was hard to see at first glance, but if you knew what you were looking for, you could tell that it was...

"A red hair..." Maya said.

Pearl's eyes went wide. "You're not Iris! You're Dahli—!"

Dahlia's hand was on Pearl's throat before she could finish her sentence.

"Say one word, and I'll kill you right now," Dahlia hissed.

"Let Pearl go!" Maya said. "There are dozens of witnesses here, Dahlia! You can't get away with killing someone!"

"Oh no? I already have," Dahlia smiled.

"You have?"

"The food is poisoned. Pretty soon, Mia Fey and Phoenix Wright will be dead, and my revenge will be complete."

"Oh, man! How many times do I have to save Nick from you?" Maya complained.

Dahlia frowned at this statement.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing."

"Nobody saved Phoenix Wright from me except..." Dahlia's eyes flashed with comprehension. "You. You're that girl from five years ago!"

"I..."

"The one who kissed that Phoenix Wright fool to stop me from giving him the necklace! I _knew_ it wasn't a coincidence that he was the one who landed me in jail shortly afterwards!"

Hearing about Maya kissing Phoenix, Pearl almost fainted from joy (and lack of oxygen).

Dahlia took charge of the situation. "Why haven't you aged in the past five years? How did you know what I was doing back then? And how did you recognize me just now? No one else knows I have a twin sister..."

"It's too complicated to explain," Maya said.

"Tell me _now_, or the girl dies," Dahlia said, tightening her grip on Pearl's throat.

"We're from alternate universes. I'm Maya from the universe where I'm Phoenix's law partner, and that's Pearl from the future where Nick becomes a drunken hobo."

"And I'm Dahlia from the world where she doesn't believe you."

Pearl's face was turning an unhealthy color. Things were getting dangerous.

"_Let her go!_" Maya shouted, trying to attract attention.

"Wrong move," Dahlia said, throwing Pearl backwards onto the ground. Pearl tried to take a huge gulp of air, but it was strained.

Dahlia produced a knife out of nowhere. _Kill the two quickly, then run_, she decided. _Then, "Iris" disappears forever._

"Hyaaa-ho!" Maya cried, punching Dahlia in the left eye and knocking her backwards. You don't watch _The Steel Samurai_ every day without picking up on some good fighting moves, after all.

By this time, other people had seen what was going on and decided to stop the fight by restraining Maya.

"What's going _on_ here?" Mia demanded. "Maya, this is the second time you've disrupted our ceremonies!"

"She punched me!" Dahlia said, instantly reverting back to her identity as Iris. "She punched me for no reason!"

"That's not Iris! That's Dahlia! They're sisters!"

"No, _Pearl_ is Iris' sister, remember?"

"Iris has a twin sister nobody knows about!"

Phoenix and Mia exchanged a worried look. "Maya, maybe you need to see a doctor," Phoenix said.

"I'm not crazy!" Maya said.

By this time, Pearl had gotten up off the floor. "It's true, Nick! You believe me, don't you?"

"Okay, I don't even _know_ you," Phoenix said. "Why should I believe you?"

"This is all wrong! You're supposed to marry Maya!" Pearl complained. "Why would you marry her _sister?_"

"These two are causing a scene," Dahlia said. "I can _personally_ escort them out of here, if you want."

"_Don't come near me, Dahlia!_" Maya cried. "Mia, she's going to try to kill me! Again!"

"Dahlia Hawthorne was executed half a year ago," Mia said, trying to calm Maya down. "You don't have to worry about her anymore."

"They don't believe us, Maya," Pearl said.

"Oh, fine. Let's just go back to the time machine, then. This new universe is stupid."

* * *

Pearl and Maya returned to the time machine without any major interference from anyone. Most people at the wedding reception were glad to see them go, to be quite honest.

"I can't _believe_ what just happened," Maya said.

"Me neither. You kissed Nick? _Again?_" Pearl hugged Maya. "See, it's true love!"

"Ah, Pearly," Maya said, trying to push her away. "It wasn't like that! I was just trying to protect him from Dahlia!"

"_Suuuure_ you were," Pearl said. "After all, everyone knows that whenever you want to protect someone from a murderer, the first thing you do is make out with him."

Maya turned red. "That's not...it's..._just hurry up and start the time machine already!_"

"Bossy," Pearl muttered to herself as she pressed the MASON System Start Button.

* * *

_Five Years Ago..._

Pearl and Maya were inside the courtroom library, at the table next to Phoenix's. They were hiding behind some books and trying not to be noticed.

"Why are we spying on Nick again?"

"This is where you messed up the timeline, right?" Pearl said, pulling out her phone and setting it to video recording mode.

"Right."

"So we're here because I need to know exactly what you did so I can set the timeline back in place."

Pearl was lying, of course. She already had the solution to the situation back in the time machine. She just wanted an excuse to see Maya kiss Phoenix.

Fortunately, our heroines didn't have long to wait before Dahlia showed up and started flirting with Phoenix.

Pearl growled fiercely at her.

But Pearl's anger abated as the other Maya appeared on the scene and threw her arms around Phoenix.

"Awww, you're so sweet together!" Pearl whispered to Maya.

"I was just _pretending_ to like Nick," Maya said.

Pearl ignored Maya and double-checked her phone. Yep, it was recording every glorious second...

"I saw you!" the other Maya said to Dahlia. "You were going to give him that necklace as a token of your affection, weren't you? _Weren't you?_"

Phoenix began to say something, but the other Maya cut him off by grabbing his head and forcibly kissing him.

"YES! You go, Maya!" Pearl cheered loudly.

Immediately, Phoenix, Dahlia and Maya (both of them) looked at Pearl.

"Oops," Pearl said.

"And you blamed _me_ for changing the timeline," Maya grumbled.

"Woah!" the other Maya said. "Is that another me?"

"There's _two_ of you?" Dahlia asked.

"Oh, no, we're twin sisters! Just like you and Iris!" Maya said.

Dahlia squinted suspiciously. "How do you know about my sister? I've never told anyone about her."

Phoenix probably would have said something interesting, except he was still basking in the afterglow of his first kiss.

"Abort! Abort!" Maya cried.

"Let's get out of here!" Pearl said, grabbing her phone in one hand, Maya's hand in the other, and running as quickly as she could.

* * *

"_Now_ what do we do?" Maya asked. "I think we screwed up the timeline beyond repair."

"Simple," Pearl said. "You're not the first one to mess up timelines, you know. That's why we invented this."

Pearl pulled out an orange-colored gun attachment that connected to the time machine.

"You're going to shoot me?"

"This isn't a normal gun, Maya. It's a Time Gun," Pearl said, going into lecture mode. "See, the timeline has completely changed. The only reason _we_ haven't disappeared is because we now exist out of time. Understand?"

"Not really, but keep going," Maya said.

"Well, the Time Gun was developed to stop time-travelling criminals. It can sense if a person is out of time, and it will send the person backwards and forwards along the curvatures of space/time until it finds the location where the person first stepped out of time. Fortunately, we know the exact coordinates we first left from, so we can guide ourselves on the trip back to the future."

Maya, who had been zoning out during Pearl's lecture, snapped back to attention at these words. "_Back to the Future_ is one of my favorite movies!" Maya said. "I love the part where the doctor says his computer has 1.21 gigabytes!"

"...Never mind," Pearl said. Time travel discussion was apparently too complicated for Maya to understand.

* * *

To make a long story short, the Time Gun worked, and Maya and Pearl were sent back to where (and more importantly, _when_) they were before their time-travelling misadventures.

"We're back to the normal universe?" Maya asked.

"Yes."

"Everything's back to the way it was? You're sure?"

"Of course," Pearl said. "Only an idiot would go time travelling without some way of getting back in case something bad happened."

"Let's double check with Nick," Maya said, not convinced.

So Pearl and Maya went to the Wright & Co. Offices, where Phoenix was supposed to be reading some paperwork (but was playing around on the Internet instead).

"Nick, I have a very serious question to ask you," Maya said.

"Sure," Phoenix said, taking a drink of water. "What is it?"

"You're not marrying my sister, are you?"

Phoenix started choking on his water.

"Oh no!" Maya said, starting to hit Phoenix on the back.

"Maybe you should give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation," Pearl suggested.

"You only do that if someone's drowning," Maya said.

"Darn," Pearl said. For a moment, she thought she could trick Maya into putting her lips against Phoenix's.

"Whuh-what kind of question is _that?_" Phoenix asked. "Your sister has been dead for two years!"

"Answer the question," Maya said sternly.

"No, I'm not marrying Mia!"

"Great!" Maya said. "This _is_ the real world!"

Phoenix rubbed his forehead. "Maya, have you been watching those ridiculous cartoons again?"

"Yes," Maya said. "I mean, no! I mean, yes, I have watched them, but no, they're not ridiculous!"

"I think you should watch something else for a while."

"You have no taste," Maya said. "But hey, speaking of watching things, can we watch _Back to the Future_ this Friday? Please?"

Pearl rolled her eyes as she left the offices. Yep, everything was back to normal, all right.

And while it was very good that they stopped the alternate universe from occurring, Pearl couldn't help but feel kind of let down by the whole day's events. All that work with time travelling, just to go back to the beginning before anything changed. It was like the trip was a complete waste of time!

Pearl pulled out her cell phone and made it play back the video she recorded.

_Okay, so maybe the trip wasn't a __complete__ waste of time... _Pearl thought to herself.

* * *

_That Friday..._

"Did you get the movie?" Phoenix asked.

"Sure did!" Maya said. "Pearl had a copy, so she gave it to me."

"Figures she'd have a copy of _Back to the Future_..." Phoenix muttered to himself.

Maya popped in the DVD that Pearl gave her. "This is such a cool movie!"

The TV screen was blank for a few seconds, then the video Pearl recorded came onscreen.

"What's this?" Phoenix asked.

Maya's face turned white.

The onscreen Maya threw her arms around younger Phoenix and passionately defended him from Dahlia Hawthorne.

"_Give me the remote!_" Maya cried. "_Stop stop stop it!_"

"What the heck...?"

Then the big moment of Maya kissing Phoenix filled the TV screen.

"_PEARL!!!!!!!!!_"


	11. A Murder in Kurain

**Author's Note:** Later on in this chapter, things are going to get serious as Phoenix begins a murder investigation. I just thought I should warn you.

* * *

Maya wanted Pearl to be grounded. Not just grounded, Super Ultra Mega Grounded. Phoenix, however, stuck up for his junior partner.

"You can't ground Pearl for giving you the wrong video," Phoenix said.

"Wrong video? She gave me that video on purpose, and you know it!"

"I still don't understand where that video came from."

"I told you, we went back in time, and I was trying to save you from Dahlia!"

"...By making out with me?"

"_No!_ By pretending to be your girlfriend!"

Phoenix pressed some buttons on the remote and replayed the video. "I dunno, it sure _looks_ like you made out with me."

"Stop rewinding the video," Maya ordered. "For your information, it doesn't count as making out because you didn't kiss back. So there!"

"What?"

"It's not _my_ fault you're a horrible kisser, Nick!"

"Horrible kisser?"

"Yes. Now help me think of some way to get back at Pearl."

"Horrible _kisser?_"

"Yes, I said—"

"For your information, no girl I've kissed has every complained," Phoenix said.

"Yeah, that's because you've never kissed anyone besides Iris," Maya said sarcastically.

_Ouch! _ Phoenix thought.

"That's not true!" Phoenix protested. "I've kissed tons of girls!"

Maya rolled her eyes. "You're such a bad liar. I can practically _see_ your Psyche Locks right now."

"Yeah, well..." Phoenix scratched his head, trying to think of some way to turn the conversation around. "I don't go out on dates because I'm busy. Unlike _some _people who go on time trips with Pearl whenever they want!"

"Maybe I wouldn't be going on trips with Pearl if you weren't spending all your time with Iris!" Maya accused.

"I'm not spending all my time with Iris," Phoenix said.

"Oh, yeah? How much time have you spent with _me_ this week?"

"I..." Phoenix thought for a moment. Maya had a point. This was basically the first time he had been alone with her that week.

"I've been busy this week, that's all. That doesn't mean I've forgotten you. We're still having Friday Night Movie Night together, right?"

"I guess so..." Maya said. "...Sorry for getting upset. I just feel like we haven't spent any time together lately, so I was really looking forward to watching an awesome movie with you, but _Pearl_ had to go and switch videos on me..."

"I'm not mad at you, Maya," Phoenix said. "If you want, I can stop spending so much time with Iris."

"No, you don't have to do that! I shouldn't get in between you and your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," Phoenix admitted. "She's more of my...I dunno..."

"You don't know? Come on, Nick! You can tell me!"

Phoenix sighed. "It's complicated. Have _you_ ever been in a relationship with someone who was pretending to be his twin?"

"No."

"Well, it's tough. Sometimes, I don't know if I'm talking with the real Iris, or Iris-pretending-to-be-Dahlia, or what."

"Oh. I guess that would make things difficult."

There was a brief pause.

"Wait, so you _are_ going out with Iris, then?"

"No! I mean, I just told you, I don't know," Phoenix said.

"How do you _not_ know?" Maya asked. "Either you're going out with her or you're not."

"I'm not good at this relationship stuff, okay?" Phoenix asked, slightly annoyed. "I mean, you're right. Iris is basically the only girlfriend I've ever had. I don't have a lot of experience to fall back on."

"Really? A studly guy like you?" Maya teased.

"Yeah..." Phoenix said. "When I was growing up, Larry was the one who was good with girls. I was just the guy with the weird hairdo who all the girls ignored."

Maya frowned. "Everyone says the same thing about me. I'm just the girl with the weird hair and the hippie clothes. All the guys pass me by and chase after girls like April May instead."

"So, basically, we're both dateless losers," Phoenix summed up.

"Yeah."

There was a slight pause after this.

"When did our Friday Night Movie become the Lonely Singles Night?"

"I don't know."

"Me neither." Phoenix sighed and got up. "Come on, let's go get a real movie."

"Yay!" Maya said.

* * *

"I have some bad news," Maya announced in the office later that week. "I have to move back to Kurain this weekend."

"Really?" Phoenix asked.

"No!" Pearl said.

"Yeah, now that I'm the new Kurain Master, they want me to actually _do_ stuff," Maya said. "It's so unfair."

"You can't move away!" Pearl said. "You...you can't!"

"I don't really have a choice," Maya said. "Besides, I was going to move back in July, anyway."

"You were _what?_" Pearl asked.

"Maya usually spends about half the year here, and the other half in Kurain," Phoenix explained. "At least, that's what she's been doing the past few years."

Maya nodded. "And now I have to go back to Kurain. Sorry for the short notice. I thought it would be at least a month before I had to return."

"It's okay, Maya," Phoenix said. "I understand."

"It's _not_ okay, Maya!" Pearl said. "You can't just _leave_ without any notice! What about the law firm?"

"Ah, you guys will be fine without me," Maya said.

"Yes, you're doing a great job as my legal assistant, Pearl," Phoenix said.

"But...but...what about you and Nick? You two were just about to declare your undying love for each other!"

Phoenix rolled his eyes.

"But Pearl!" Maya said. "Didn't Nick tell you what happened last Friday after we watched the video you gave us?"

"No!" Pearl said. "Why, what happened?"

"We had a very serious discussion about our relationship," Maya said, winking at Phoenix. "Right, Nick?"

"_Right_," Phoenix said. "Pearl should know about it before you go."

"You guys are keeping secrets from me?" Pearl asked. "Okay, tell me what happened _now_."

Maya grabbed Phoenix's hands in hers and looked into his eyes.

"Well, Nick and I were talking, and I realized what my one, true, deep love is," Maya said, her eyes sparkling. She leaned in closer to Phoenix, until their lips were about an inch apart. "I love...I love..."

Pearl's eyes went wide, and she gasped dramatically. Were Nick and Maya going to...?

"I love burgers! Let's go get something to eat! I'm starving!"

"Maya! That's not funny!"

* * *

So it was that Maya moved back to Kurain, and it was just Phoenix and Pearl working together in the Wright & Co. Law Offices for the next few months. Pearl turned out to be a very good legal assistant when she wasn't trying to interfere with people's love lives, and Phoenix promised that he would soon let _her_ take a case and fight in court.

Unfortunately, the day for that trial came much sooner than they expected.

* * *

In Kurain, Little Pearl was skipping along the main town path. If she hurried, she could see Mystic Maya before her training retreat!

She saw someone up ahead. Maya! She waved and ran forward.

But as Pearl ran, she could tell something was wrong. Maya wasn't standing up. She was lying on the path.

"Mystic Maya?" Pearly asked. "Why are you sleeping?"

Then she saw it. A large pool of blood coming from Maya's side.

Pearl screamed.

* * *

The next several hours went by like a blur for Little Pearl.

Her cousin, her best friend, dead.

People gathering around, murmuring.

The blood shining in the sun.

Being led away crying.

Having to tell everything to the angry policeman who showed up an hour later.

And maybe worst of all...

"Pearl Fey, you are under arrest for the murder of your cousin Maya."

* * *

"Wright & Co. Law Offices, Phoenix Wright speaking."

"M-m-m-mister Nii-i-iick?

"Pearly? Is that you?"

Pearl nodded, forgetting that Phoenix couldn't see her over the phone.

"They...they said I only get one phone call and...*sniff* I need your help!!"

"One phone call? Who says—?"

"_Mystic Maya is dead!!!_"

"_WHAAAAAAT?"_

Older Pearl looked over at Phoenix from her desk. "Something wrong?"

"_And they think I did it and they arrested me and it's horrible here and __**I want my teddy bear!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaah!!!**__"_

"Calm down, Pearl. I...I'm sure I can help figure things out. What happened?"

"I don't _know!_ I just wanted to see her before she went away for training and—!"

"Hey, kid, no making a disturbance," a policeman ordered. "Making a disturbance loses you your phone call."

The policeman hung up the phone before Pearl could respond.

Phoenix sat there, holding the phone in his hand, looking dumbfounded.

"Nick, what's wrong?" Older Pearl asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost...and I'm not talking about Mia!"

Pearl laughed at her joke, but Phoenix didn't. He stood up and grabbed his keys.

"Pearl, we're going to the Police Department," he said.

"Why?"

"I think you just got arrested for killing Maya."

"_WHAAAAAAT?"_

* * *

"This can't be true! There is _no way_ I would kill Maya!"

"You know, technically, it's not you who was arrested," Phoenix pointed out. "It's the younger you."

"Okay, whatever! There is still _no way_ that Mini-Me would kill Maya!"

"And I say there's no way that Maya can be dead," Phoenix said. "I refuse to believe it until I see it for myself."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Pearl smiled. "Awww, that's so cute! You and Maya are soul mates, so you can tell she's still alive! You can feel it in your heart!"

"Now is _not_ the time for that," Phoenix ordered, not wanting to admit that he _did_ have a gut feeling Maya was still alive.

"Right!" Pearl said. "We've got to save Maya and Mini-Me!"

Detective Gumshoe was waiting for them at the Police Department.

"I heard what happened, Pal!" he said. "So I personally requested that I be assigned to this case! Don't worry, we're going to find Maya's killer no matter what!"

"She's not dead!" Pearl objected.

"We've got ten witnesses who say otherwise. Including the main suspect."

"That _suspect_ happens to be _my_ little sister," Pearl said, angrily. "And she's Maya's cousin! They love each other! No _way_ would she kill Maya!"

"You _know_ Pearl, Detective," Phoenix said. "You can't possibly believe she did it, can you?"

Gumshoe looked sad. "I don't think she's a killer, no. But the report I got from the guy who did the initial investigation says that she was the first one on the scene. Plus, she stands most to benefit by Maya's death."

"Benefit?"

"I forget the exact words, but the report says she was second in line to see some sort of movie."

"Movie?"

"I think he means second-in-line to become Master of Kurain," Phoenix said.

"And now that Maya's dead, she's first in line!" Gumshoe shouted. Then he scratched his head. "I wonder what movie she wanted to see...?"

"There's no movie!" Pearl said. "Stop goofing around! We've got lives to save!"

Gumshoe brightened up. "Hey, Pals, don't worry! Now that _I'm_ on the case, the real killer is as good as caught! Dick Gumshoe always gets his man!"

_Why does Detective Gumshoe being on the case instill me with __less__ confidence than before?_ Phoenix wondered.

"You guys are going to be her lawyers, aren't you?" Gumshoe asked.

Phoenix nodded.

"Ha! I knew it! That's why I already submitted the form for you to be her lawyer at the trial tomorrow!"

"The trial is _tomorrow?_" Phoenix asked.

"Trials always happen soon after the crime," Gumshoe said. "You should be used to that by now, Pal."

"But...but the investigation hasn't even started! We still have to examine the crime scene!"

"The _initial_ investigation is done already," Gumshoe said. "That's why we made an arrest. I'm going to finish the secondary investigation right now."

"What do you mean, now?" Phoenix asked.

"The next train to Kurain leaves in twenty minutes," Gumshoe said. "I was just about to catch it."

Pearl checked her watch. "But...if you go now, the only way to get back in time is on the 8:00 PM train."

"Yeah, that's what I was going to do, Pal."

"But we can't leave now! We haven't even talked to our client yet!"

Phoenix thought for a moment, then made a decision. "Pearl, you stay here and talk to our client. I'll go to Kurain with Detective Gumshoe."

"No way! _I_ want to go to Kurain! _You_ talk to me!"

"I'm going to Kurain, and that's final," Phoenix said. "I _have_ to learn what happened to Maya. You can stay here and talk to yourself."

Gumshoe scratched his head. She was going to talk to herself? What?

Pearl's eyes sparkled. "I understand, Nick. You and Maya have a special connection. I'll stay here."

"Augh! That's not...!"

"When you find Maya, tell her you love her! Then give her the biggest kiss ever!"

"But she's dead, Pal!"

"She's not dead! She's alive in her special someone's heart forever more!"

Phoenix sighed. There was no reasoning with Pearl when she got in one of these moods. "Let's go, Detective Gumshoe."

* * *

"It's my first investigation all by myself," Pearl mused as she went to the Detention Center. "This would be so cool if it was a different case."

Pearls was waiting for her.

"Big Me!" Pearl said. "Get me out of here! It's scary!"

"Don't worry," Pearl said. "I'm going to be your lawyer for the trial. I'll find you innocent in no time!"

"Good!" Pearly said. "But...where's Mister Nick?"

"He's in Kurain right now, trying to find Maya."

Little Pearl gasped. "You mean she's still alive?"

"Of _course_ Maya's still alive!" Pearl said.

"But when I saw her, she was bleeding all over! It was like somebody cut her with a knife!"

"Where?"

"Right here," Pearl said, rubbing the side of her training outfit where the bow is.

"That's a weird place to stab someone in acolyte's robes..." Pearl mused. "Was her bow ripped into pieces?"

Little Pearl through for a moment. "No, her clothes weren't ripped. I remember, they were covered in blood!"

"OBJECTION!" Pearl cried. "How could somebody stab the side of her body and not rip her clothing?"

"I don't know!" Little Pearl said. "I didn't do it, I swear! I'd never hurt Mystic Maya!"

"I don't think you killed Maya," Pearl said. "This is good, though. I've got a contradiction! I can use it to help prove you innocent in the trial tomorrow! Tell me more, though. Why did they arrest you?"

"I don't know! The people here are mean! They're always arresting people who don't do anything wrong! Just like when they arrested Mom!"

"Um...Mom is really...never mind," Pearl said. "Just tell me everything that happened today, and don't leave anything out."

* * *

Phoenix and Gumshoe made it to Kurain without any trouble. Gumshoe said Phoenix wasn't allowed to visit the crime scene until he went over it first, so Phoenix went to Fey Manor in hopes of learning more about what Maya had been doing that day.

He spoke with Mystic Rosalie, one of Maya's friends he had met on earlier visits to Kurain.

"Mr. Wright," Rosalie said. "I'm sorry you had to come here on such unpleasant business."

"I'm sorry, too."

"It's horrible. I never would have believed Mystic Pearl would kill her cousin."

"I _don't_ believe it," Phoenix said. "Pearl and Maya always get along perfectly."

"That's not true. They _did_ get in a fight earlier today," Rosalie said. "At least, I overheard Maya arguing with someone before she ran out and slammed the door."

"You saw Maya run out of her room?"

"No, I was down the hall," Rosalie said. "I heard two loud slamming sounds, and Maya stopped yelling. That had to have been because she left the room and slammed the door behind her, right?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Phoenix said. "Did you investigate?"

"No," Mystic Rosalie said. "Mystic Maya is usually loud. I didn't think it was out of the ordinary. Plus, it'd be embarrassing if I walked in on them while they were having a fight, you know?"

"I guess..." Phoenix said. "This could be important, though. Let's check it out."

Phoenix's investigation turned out no clues whatsoever. Maya's room was a little messy, but there were no signs of evildoing or any sort of struggle.

_Well, that was a bust..._ Phoenix thought to himself. _Maybe Gumshoe's finished investigating the crime scene, and now I can take a look at it..._

But when Phoenix found Gumshoe, the good detective was distraught.

"This is horrible, Pal! When Mr. Edgeworth finds out, he's going to dock my salary again!"

_That doesn't sound good..._ Phoenix thought. "What's wrong, Detective?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong! Somebody must have come here before us and changed the crime scene!"

"How do you know?"

"Maya's body...it's gone!"

* * *

"Gone? What do you mean _gone?_" Pearl asked.

"I mean someone took Maya's dead body away," Phoenix said into his phone. "We can't find it anywhere."

"How do you _lose _a corpse?"

"I told you, we didn't lose it; it was taken," Phoenix said.

"And do you think that whoever took it is the real murderer?"

"I think there's no body because Maya's not really dead," Phoenix said. "I refuse to believe she's dead until I see it with my own eyes."

"Wait. Duh! Why didn't I think of it before?"

"Think of what?"

"The Kurain channeling technique! I can try channeling Maya, and if it doesn't work, it means she's still alive!"

Phoenix slapped his forehead. "Of course! What are you waiting for? Try it now!"

"Okay, here goes nothing. ........"

Phoenix listened closely.

"Nothing happened!" Pearl said. "I can't channel Maya!"

_"She's alive!"_ Phoenix shouted. "I knew it! But _where the heck is she?"_

* * *

Shortly afterwards, Maya woke up. She was surprised to find that she was in a cave for some reason. She pushed herself off of the ground, and was even more surprised to find that the right side of her body was covered in blood.

"I'm bleeding!" Maya said. "I'm dying! I'm going to...wait, why doesn't it hurt?"

She ran her hand along her side. No cuts. No bruises. Everything seemed perfectly fine. But why her robes stained with...?

"It must be fake blood," Maya said. "Why am I coated in fake blood? That's weird."

Then she remembered what happened immediately _before_ she was knocked unconscious.

"This isn't good," Maya said to herself. "How do I get out of this mess?"

"You won't," her abductor said, stepping into the cave.


	12. Pearl's First Trial

Phoenix stayed the night in Kurain. It would have been easier to convince Phoenix to marry Franziska von Karma than it would have been to convince him to leave Kurain before he found Maya.

And that meant Pearl had to be in her first trial completely alone.

"No Nick, no Maya, no legal assistant at all," Pearl complained to herself. "Great. Well, at least I'll be going up against that easy guy they always give to the rookie lawyers..."

But when she got to the courtroom, Miles Edgeworth was waiting for her.

"You're not Winston Payne..." Pearl said.

"And you're not Phoenix Wright," Edgeworth said. "Where is he?"

"He's in Kurain, looking for Maya," Pearl said. "I'm going to be the defense attorney today."

"Ah," Edgeworth said. "Defending your sister from murder charges. How noble."

"She didn't do it!" Pearl said. "Besides, Maya's not dead! We can't channel her spirit, which means she's still alive somewhere."

"I see," Edgeworth said. "Good luck proving that theory in court."

Edgeworth turned to leave.

"Wait, Mr. Edgeworth!" Pearl cried.

"Yes?"

"Any chance you could, you know, go easy on me today? Seeing as it's my first trial and all?"

Edgeworth grinned. "Not a chance, Miss Fey."

* * *

_Courtroom #2_

"The court calls the trial of Kurain Village VS Pearl Fey to order," the Judge said, banging his gavel. "Is the defense ready?"

"I think so..." Pearl said.

"The prosecution has been ready for quite some time now," Edgeworth said.

"Ah, a new defense lawyer!" the Judge said. "Let's see if you know how to work the Court Record. Tell me, who is the victim in this case?"

"Maya Fey."

"Correct," the Judge said. "And who is the defendant?"

"Pearl Fey."

"Very good. And how are the two of them related?"

"They're cousins," Pearl said. She didn't even need to check the Court Record to answer _those_ questions.

"Good. It seems you are all prepared to help defend your client..." The Judge checked his notes. "Miss Pearl Fey. Wait, Pearl Fey? Isn't she the defendant?"

"Pearl is my little sister," Pearl said, sighing. Someday, she would have to come up with a better cover story to hide the fact that she was Pearl from the future. Only a complete idiot would believe that two parents would name _both_ their daughters Pearl.

"Why, that makes perfect sense!" the Judge said. "Giving both daughters the same name! I wonder why nobody thought of doing that before!"

"Uh..."

"The trial, Your Honor?" Edgeworth said.

"Ah, yes. Mr. Edgeworth, you may proceed."

"Thank you, Your Honor. Ladies and Gentlemen of the court, the defendant has been accused of killing her cousin for reasons that are not yet clear."

"OBJECTION!" Pearl shouted. "If she has no motive, why is she being accused?"

Edgeworth shook his head. "Let me finish my opening statement before interrupting with pointless objections. The motive is not yet clear, but I hope to prove it through witness testimony."

_Whoops..._ Pearl thought to herself.

"First, let us hear from the defendant herself. The prosecution calls Pearl Fey to the stand!"

Pearl made her way to the witness stand.

"Hello, Little Girl," the Judge said. "Are you lost?"

"No," Pearly said. "I'm Pearl Fey."

"_You're _the defendant?" the Judge asked.

"I can hardly believe it myself, Your Honor," Older Pearl said. "Accusing such a sweet, innocent little girl of murdering her best friend! Mr. Edgeworth, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

Edgeworth was unfazed. "As I understand it, there is nothing sweet or innocent about _any_ member of the Fey family. All of them have been accused of murder at one point in time."

"Objection! Most of us were proven innocent!"

"Meaning to say, of course, that some were found guilty, including the defendant's mother and half-sister."

_Ugh..._ Pearl thought. _No wonder Nick doesn't like going up against Edgeworth in court. This guy doesn't pull any punches!_

"Half-sister?" the Judge asked.

"The defendant's half-sister is none other than the notorious serial killer Dahlia Hawthorne," Edgeworth said, taking a short bow. "As I recall, during her trial, she too tried to hide behind a facade of innocence and purity. It just goes to show you that you can't trust a murderer."

"OBJECTION!" Pearl cried, pointing her finger dramatically at Edgeworth. "She is _not_ a murderer!"

The court fell silent.

"......."

"......."

"What is it?" Pearl asked.

Then she looked at her hand, which was still pointing at Edgeworth.

Pearl turned red. "Oh, whoops! Sorry! Pointed with the wrong finger there! Won't happen again!"

"...I think that merits a severe penalty," the Judge said.

"Objection! This is my first trial!" Pearl said. "I made a mistake! Can't you cut me a little bit of slack?"

"I suppose..." the Judge said. "Why, I remember in _my_ first trial, I accidentally lost control of my gavel and ended up hitting Manfred von Karma in the forehead. He wasn't very happy about that, as I recall. No penalty!"

"All right!" Pearl cheered.

Edgeworth coughed loudly, a cough that sounded suspiciously like the word _amateurs_. "Could we begin with the witness' testimony now?"

"Oh, right!" the Judge said. "Witness, tell us what happened on the day of the murder!"

_Witness Testimony  
The Day of the Murder_

"They say I killed Mystic Maya, but that's not true!" Little Pearl testified. "I didn't even see her that day, because she was busy. She was getting ready for a training retreat. I thought if I hurried, I could see her before she left the village, but when I found her, she was already dead."

"If this is true, this means she _can't_ be the murderer," the Judge mused. "Defense, time to do your cross-examination."

"No thanks, Your Honor," Pearl said.

"No thanks?"

"That sounds like a good testimony to me. I'm sure she's telling the truth."

"Excuse me?" Edgeworth asked. "You can't refuse to do cross-examination, just because it'd make your client look guilty!"

"Objection! She's not guilty!"

The Judge pounded his gavel. "Do your cross-examination _now_, Miss Fey, or you'll suffer a penalty!"

Pearl sighed. Oh well, it was worth a shot.

"_Fine_, Your Honor. Pearl, you said Maya was going on a training retreat?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"In the camping area outside the village," Pearly said.

"Kurain Village is close to some National Park Territory," Pearl clarified for the court. "People come there a lot to go camping, and we spirit mediums go there a lot to train. The waterfalls over there are excellent."

"Do you have a point, or is the National Park Service paying you to promote them?" Edgeworth asked rudely.

"My _point_ is that Maya was going out to spend time in the woods alone," Pearl said. "And if she's not dead, where would she be?"

"In the woods alone?" Little Pearl guessed.

Pearl slammed her hands on the table. "Exactly. That's why nobody has heard from Maya recently. It's because she's in the woods training. It's _not_ because she's dead!"

"Order! Order!" the Judge cried. "Miss Fey, are you suggesting that the victim is still alive?"

"That's _exactly_ what I'm suggesting, Your Honor," Pearl said smugly.

"Objection!" Edgeworth cried. He tapped his finger against his forehead. "The defense's fantasy is quite interesting. However, it contradicts the witness' testimony!"

"Whaaaat?"

"Witness, repeat the last statement of your testimony," Edgeworth ordered.

"I thought if I hurried, I could see her before she left the village, but when I found her, she was already dead," Little Pearl said.

"You see? The defendant says that she saw the victim's dead body. In other words, the victim _cannot_ still be alive...unless, of course, the defendant is lying." Edgeworth smiled. "Take note, Fey. _That_ is how you do a proper cross-examination!"

Pearl growled at Edgeworth.

"Objection! You're being mean, Mister Edgeworth!" Little Pearl cried. "Be nice to my big sister!"

"Objection!" Edgeworth cried. "You are speaking out of turn, witness! The defendant is not allowed to make objections!"

"Objection!" Big Pearl cried. "She's right! Be nice to Mini-Me!"

Edgeworth blinked. "Did you just call the defendant _Mini-Me?"_

"Yes," Pearl said.

"Order!" the Judge said, banging his gavel. "What does this have to do with the case?"

"I don't know," Pearl said. "_He's_ the one who brought it up, not me."

"Please make sure your comments are relevant to the trial," the Judge warned Edgeworth. "If you continue to waste the court's time, you shall receive a penalty."

Pearl grinned.

Edgeworth bowed. "Thank you for the advice, Your Honor, but I would be more worried about the defense on that account. She is, after all, a graduate from the Phoenix Wright School of Legal Defense."

"Are you telling me that Mr. Wright has quit being an attorney and started a school instead?" the Judge asked.

"No, Your Honor. I was saying that Phoenix Wright is her mentor in a figurative way."

The Judge pounded his gavel. "I see. In that case, I request that the Prosecution refrain from using literary techniques in this courtroom."

_Are trials always this weird?_ Pearl wondered.

"Duly noted," Edgeworth said. "And now, the Prosecution requests a second testimony from the defendant."

"What about?" the Judge asked.

"The moment she found the body," Edgeworth said. "If the defense is claiming that the victim is still alive..."

"She _is!_" Pearl said.

"...Then this is a crucial piece of testimony to examine."

"That makes sense," the Judge said. "Witness, your next testimony!"

_Witness Testimony  
Finding the Body_

"I was going down the road, and I saw her up ahead," Pearl testified. "I thought it was weird, because she was lying on the ground. When I got close, I saw that she was covered in blood. Then I screamed, and other people came, and they took me away."

"Just to make it crystal clear," Edgeworth said. "You're saying that Maya Fey was definitely dead."

"Yeah, but she was dead before I saw her!" Pearly said. "I didn't hurt her! There's no reason for me to do something so horrible!"

"Oh, I think there's a very good reason," Edgeworth said. "The defendant stands to gain politically with Maya Fey's death."

"Politically?" the Judge asked.

"Maya Fey was the Head of Kurain Village, a very prestigious position that also includes control over the Kurain Channeling Technique and the local spirit medium school. With Maya out of the picture, the position reverts to the defendant."

"So you're saying she killed her cousin to gain control over the village," the Judge said.

Edgeworth nodded. "Previous attempts have been made on Maya Fey's life for this very reason."

"_Objection!"_ Pearl cried. "Pearl doesn't care about politics! She's only nine years old! She can't even _spell_ politics!"

"Objection! Don't make fun of my spelling!" Little Pearl said.

"I'm not making fun," Pearl said. "I'm just stating a fact."

It was true. In fact, neither the younger nor the older Pearl could spell _politics_ correctly. Her spelling did not improve with age.

"Yes, well, the defendant's spelling skills aside, the fact remains that she is the one who benefits the most from Maya Fey's death. It is also a fact that she was the first one at the scene of the crime. And not to mention—"

_"Objection!"_ Pearl cried, trying to cut Edgeworth off before he made any more good points against her client. "I haven't started my cross-examination yet!"

"That is true," the Judge said. "You may cross-examine the witness now."

Pearl smiled. This was a great time to bring up the contradiction she found while investigating yesterday—the fact that Maya was supposedly stabbed, but her clothes weren't ripped at all.

"When I got close, I saw that she was covered in blood," Little Pearl said.

_"Hold it!"_ Pearl cried. "So that's why you think Maya was dead? She was covered in blood?"

"Yes."

"Did you make _sure_ she was dead? That is, did you take her pulse?"

"What's a pulse?"

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Pearl said, smugly. "In other words, we don't know for sure if she's dead."

"Objection!" Edgeworth said. "This is an easy enough matter to clear up. Witness, did Maya move at all when you screamed?"

"No."

Edgeworth held out his hands. "You see? Maya Fey was clearly dead. I find it hard to believe that she was still alive, but chose not to respond in any way."

"What if she was knocked unconscious or sleeping or something like that?"

"Recall the witness' testimony. Maya Fey was clearly bleeding a great deal. Now tell me—is it likely that someone would be stabbed, then take a nap before seeking medical attention?"

"That _is_ unlikely," the Judge said.

"Yes, it is," Pearl said. "_If_ Maya was really stabbed! Mini-Me, you said Maya was stabbed on the right-hand side of her body?"

"That's where all the blood was," Pearl said. "I didn't look very long. It was disgusting."

The Judge nodded. "I don't blame you one bit, witness."

"Then why is it that _Maya's clothes weren't ripped?_" Pearl asked dramatically.

"Ah!" the Judge said.

"It's pretty hard to stab somebody without ripping their clothes, wouldn't you agree?"

"I would!" the Judge said.

"And since Maya's clothes weren't ripped, I think we can agree that means _she wasn't stabbed_. In other words, _she's still alive!"_

"That _is_ the only natural conclusion," the Judge agreed.

_All right! I've got the Judge convinced!_ Pearl thought. _Now, just hope that Edgeworth doesn't have an..._

"Objection!" Edgeworth said. "Nice try, Fey, but you forgot something very important."

_Uh oh. _"What?"

"Evidence, naturally. _Do you have any evidence to show that Maya Fey's clothes weren't ripped?"_

"I...I...of course not! There's no body!"

Edgeworth shook his head. "Then there's no way you can prove this theory about the victim not being stabbed."

"But...but...objection! The witness says that..."

"She did not get a good look at the body before being ushered away," Edgeworth interrupted. "Correct, witness?"

"I didn't want to look at Maya when she was like that!" Little Pearl said. "I'm sorry!"

Pearl sighed. "It's okay, Pearl. No one blames you."

"Besides, it hardly matters what the defendant saw," Edgeworth said.

"Excuse me?" Pearl said. "It matters a great deal! It proves that Maya was dead _before_ Pearl found the body!"

Edgeworth wagged his finger at Pearl. "Unless, of course, the defendant is lying to cover up the fact that she is the true murderer."

"I'm not a liar!" Pearl said.

"Can you prove that with evidence from the Court Record?"

"Of course not!" Older Pearl snapped. "We don't _have _any evidence! The Court Record is practically empty...just like your head!"

"Order!" the Judge said, banging his gavel. "Will the defense refrain from making personal attacks against the prosecution?"

"...Sorry, Your Honor," Pearl said.

_Not,_ she thought.

"Very well. Where do we go from here?" the Judge asked.

"At the moment, we have two problems," Edgeworth said. "One, did the defendant have sufficient motive to kill her cousin?"

"No," Pearl said.

"That was a rhetorical question, Fey," Edgeworth said, haughtily. "Two, can we learn more about how the victim was killed when we don't have a body or an autopsy report? Fortunately, my next witness will be able to provide concrete answers to both questions."

"Very well," the Judge said. "In that case, we will take a twenty minute recess while you prepare the witness. Any objections?"

"No objections, Your Honor," Pearl said.

The Judge banged his gavel. "Court is now in recess!"

* * *

Pearl called Phoenix on her cell phone during the recess.

"Have you found Maya?" she asked.

"No," Phoenix said. "I've been searching all over Kurain, but no luck so far."

"I think she might be in the National Park near Kurain," Pearl said. "We just found out in court that Maya was planning on going there to train. Maybe she's there now and doesn't know that anything happened."

"Good plan," Phoenix said. "How large is the park?"

"Um...really, really big," Pearl said. "It takes about five days to get from one side to the other on foot."

Phoenix sighed. "That doesn't help much. How's the trial going?"

"Good, except Edgeworth is a total _jerk_," Pearl complained. "How can you be friends with him?"

"He's really a lot nicer than he pretends to be," Phoenix said. "...I think."

"I doubt it."

"Look, don't worry. As long as your client is innocent, there's no need to panic. Edgeworth is really fair when it comes to prosecuting only guilty people."

"I wish you were here," Pearl said. "You know how to deal with Mr. _I'm So Cool That I Wear Pink Ruffles_. I mean, the 1700's called—they want their clothes back."

"Having conversations about me?" a voice behind Pearl said.

"Eek!" Pearl said. "Gotta go, Nick!"

She hung up the phone quickly, then turned on Edgeworth. "What do _you_ want, Ruffles? Come to accuse another nine-year-old of murder?"

To his credit, Edgeworth didn't respond to Pearl's goads. "I have a question about the case," he said.

"What?"

"Your client is first in line to become Master of Kurain after Maya Fey's death, yes?"

"That's right. So?"

"If she's your younger sister, why is _she_ in line ahead of you?"

_Uh oh!_ Pearl thought. "Um...uh...she has more spiritual power than me?"

"I see," Edgeworth said. "There's something very odd about you and your sister, Fey. I have never before met two siblings with identical names."

_Does he know I'm from the future?_ Pearl wondered. _No...that's impossible._

"In any case, now that your sister's testimony is over, she can sit with you at the defense table."

"Um...no offense, but why would I want her to do that?"

"Isn't it obvious? She can summon your cousin Mia. I have a feeling you could use a good legal assistant right now."

"Hey, you're right! Thanks, Mister Edge...wait a minute."

"What?"

"You planned this, didn't you? You purposely called Pearl to testify first so she could help me."

"I...I need to prepare for the trial," Edgeworth said. "Farewell."

Edgeworth quickly walked away.

Pearl smiled. Maybe Nick was right. Edgeworth wasn't that bad, after all.

Then she clenched her fists. _All right. Time for Round Two._


	13. Mystic Rosalie Testifies

Phoenix was going through everything in Maya's room again when Detective Gumshoe came in, drinking a cup of tea.

"You're still looking at the things in here?" Gumshoe asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes," Phoenix said. "There might be a clue here that I overlooked."

"No offense, Pal, but don't you think you should take a break?" Gumshoe asked. "I mean, how many times have you gone through Maya's room?"

"This is the fifth," Phoenix said, taking a close look at one of Maya's spare hair beads in case there was a fingerprint on it.

"Wow," Gumshoe said, taking a sip of his tea. "You must really care about that Maya girl, then, huh?"

"I sure do," Phoenix said, picking up two small chips of wood off the floor. Where did they come from?

"It must have been tough on you, having a long distance relationship," Gumshoe said.

"Long distance—Gumshoe! She's not my girlfriend!"

"She's not?"

"We're just friends!"

Gumshoe scratched his head. "But you're so worked up over her death that..."

"She's not dead! I know she's alive somewhere! I can feel it!"

"Um...if you say so, Pal," Gumshoe chuckled. "I'm not going to argue against your feelings."

Phoenix sighed. Gumshoe didn't understand. How could he? No one understood Maya the way Phoenix did.

Phoenix unconsciously fingered the Magatama in his pocket. It was all he had left of Maya now...

* * *

"You know, _my_ first trial was against Miles Edgeworth," Mia said.

"How'd it go?" Pearl asked.

"My client killed himself before the trial ended."

"Thanks for the confidence booster, Mia."

"Anytime, Future Girl."

"Don't say that too loudly," Pearl said. "I think Edgdeworth is onto me."

Mia laughed. "I seriously doubt a logic nut like Edgeworth believes in time travel."

"Well, he knows _something_ is weird about me," Pearl said. "What if he decides to check the official state records and finds out I don't have any?"

"_Ahem!_" the Judge said loudly. "I'll say it again. Is the defense ready?"

"Whoops," Pearl said. "Sorry, Your Honor. We're ready!"

"The prosecution has been ready for quite some time now, Your Honor," Edgeworth said.

"Then I hereby resume the trial of Kurain VS Pearl Fey," the Judge said, banging his gavel. "Mister Edgeworth, your opening statement."

"Thank you, Your Honor. Normally, Detective Gumshoe would give a testimony about the crime scene at this point in the trial, but there have been...complications."

"Complications?"

"It appears somebody rearranged the crime scene before the good detective arrived," Edgeworth said. "In particular, the body of Maya Fey was removed. Naturally, it's hard for Detective Gumshoe to make a report on the crime scene when it was cleared up before his arrival."

"Objection!" Pearl cried. "The reason that there's no body is because Maya's not dead!"

"Objection! If she's still alive, where is she?"

"I...I don't know!"

Edgeworth shook his head. "As I thought."

"Mia...help?" Pearl said.

"Next time, try to be more professional," Mia suggested. "That's Edgeworth's strong point, so you want to match him on it."

"How do I do that?"

"Like this. _Objection!_" Mia cried. "Mr. Edgeworth, what you have just said contains a massive contradiction!"

"A contradiction?" Edgeworth asked. "Do tell."

"You claim that somebody rearranged the crime scene before Detective Gumshoe appeared, yes?"

"That is correct."

"And our client was arrested _before_ the crime scene was rearranged," Mia said.

"That would mean..." the Judge said, deep in thought. "Whoever rearranged the crime scene was not the defendant."

"Exactly. The defense claims that whoever rearranged the crime scene is the true culprit. No one else would have a motive for changing things."

"That's true!" the Judge said.

"Objection!" Edgeworth said. "Don't get carried away. This could just as easily prove that the defendant has an accomplice."

"Whatever," Pearl said. "It shows that you picked the wrong person as a suspect, and you know it."

Pearl flashed the "L for Loser" sign at Edgeworth, who was taken aback.

"Pearl, that's not acting more professional," Mia pointed out.

"Being professional is really hard to do," Pearl complained.

"Indeed...well...let's not get ahead of ourselves," Edgeworth said, trying to regain some control over the trial. "We first need to discuss the connection between the defendant and the events that took place _before_ the crime. I call Rosalie Meyers to the stand."

Mystic Rosalie took the stand.

"Witness, name and occupation, please," Edgeworth said.

"Oh, wow, Mystic Mia's here!" Mystic Rosalie said, waving at the defense table. "Hi, Mia!"

"Long time no see!" Mia said. "How have you been?"

"Just great! I got a job at—"

"Witness!" Edgeworth said, slamming his hands on the table. "Name and occupation!"

"Sorry. My name is Mystic Rosalie Meyers," Rosalie said. "I'm a spirit medium in training."

"And what is your connection to the victim?"

"We both live in Fey Manor," Rosalie said. "I overheard her fighting with Pearl the day she was murdered."

"_What?_" Pearl asked. "But Pearl said she...that is..._Objection! _My client said in her testimony that she didn't see Maya all day!"

Edgeworth wagged his finger at Pearl. "Obviously, your client was lying to make herself seem innocent."

"This seems like it will be a useful testimony," the Judge remarked. "Witness, you may proceed."

_Witness Testimony  
Maya's Fight_

"It was about a half-hour before Mystic Maya was found dead," Mystic Rosalie testified. "I was going down the hallway where Mystic Maya and Mystic Pearl live. As I passed by Maya's room, I heard her yelling loudly at someone. I knew it was none of my business, so I hurried along. By the time I got to the end of the hallway, the yelling stopped."

"Why did the yelling stop?" the Judge asked.

"I'm not sure," Mystic Rosalie admitted. "But I think it's because Maya was so mad she stormed out of her room."

"Why would you think that?"

"There were two loud sounds," Mystic Rosalie said. "That must have been Maya slamming the door behind her as she ran out."

"Wait a second," Pearl said. "If Maya slammed the door, there would only be _one_ slamming sound. And besides, if she left her room, you would have seen her in the hallway."

"I'm sorry," Mystic Rosalie said. "I didn't turn around to see if she really _did_ leave her room. I figured it was none of my business."

"In any case, this testimony proves what the prosecution has been saying all along," Edgeworth said. "The defendant _did _have a motive. She was overheard arguing with the victim shortly before the murder."

"This _does_ seem like a decisive testimony," the Judge said. "Defense, your cross examination please."

"This isn't good," Pearl said.

"Don't look so upset," Mia said. "An attorney is someone who smiles when things look their worst."

"I thought only sadists smile when things are bad."

"Don't be ridiculous," Mia said. "There are no sadist attorneys."

"You clearly haven't met Franziska von Karma."

"Ha ha," Mia said. "Look, don't get intimidated by this testimony. If Pearl and Maya didn't get into a fight that day, then the testimony should be full of holes."

"Right," Pearl said. "Time to cross-examine this puppy! I know exactly which statement I want to press, too!"

"As I passed by Maya's room, I heard her yelling loudly at someone," Rosalie testified.

"Hold it!" Pearl cried. "You say you heard Mystic Maya arguing with someone."

"That's right," Mystic Rosalie said.

"Who?"

"I'm pretty sure it was Pearl. She spends more time with Maya than anyone else does. Plus, they live next door to each other."

"But did you actually _hear_ my client say anything?"

"Well, I...I guess I didn't..."

"So it could have been someone else!" Pearl said excitedly.

"I _guess_ that's possib—"

"Objection!" Edgeworth cried. "Don't be fooled by the defense's absurd theories, witness. You were in the hallway where the two of them lived. Who else could it be?"

"Let me think," Pearl said. "The _real_ murderer?"

"It _was_ the real murderer," Edgeworth said. "Your client, Pearl Fey."

"Objection! The witness didn't hear my client's voice!"

"Because Maya Fey was yelling too loudly," Edgeworth said.

"I'll show _you_ yelling too loudly," Pearl said. "OBJEC—!!"

"Order!" the Judge said, banging his gavel. "I believe the defense is correct, Mr. Edgeworth. If the witness did not distinctly hear the defendant, then we have no way of knowing who it was she was arguing with."

"Ha! In your _face!_" Pearl cried.

"I'm going to have a talk with Phoenix about how he's running the law offices nowdays..." Mia muttered to herself.

"I see," Edgeworth said. "In that case, witness, please continue your testimony."

"As I passed by Maya's room, I heard her yelling loudly at someone," Mystic Rosalie repeated.

"Hold it!" Pearl said. "So you heard Maya yelling. What did she say?"

"I'm not sure of the exact words because I wasn't paying close attention, but I think she said, 'No! No, I'm staying here in Kurain! I don't want to go to Oregon!'"

"Oregon? As in the state?"

"That's it," Mystic Rosalie nodded. "Mystic Maya was saying she didn't want to go to Oregon."

"Objection!" Pearl said. "Why on Earth would Mystic Maya get in a fight about going to Oregon? And who would _want _her to go there in the first place?"

"I don't know," Mystic Rosalie said. "I'm sorry if my testimony isn't any help..."

"No, it's a great help!" Pearl said. "Your testimony just proved my client is innocent!"

"Objection!" Edgeworth called. "What are you talking about? Her testimony does no such thing."

"The testimony makes a few things clear. On the day of the crime, Maya got in a large fight with someone. Whoever it was wanted her to leave California, but she refused. So the person killed Maya."

"That would seem to be the reasonable conclusion," the Judge said.

"Well, of all the possible suspects, my client _couldn't_ have been the culprit!" Pearl said. "Mini-Me has never been out-of-state. In fact, coming here to LA is the farthest she's ever been from home."

"That's true," Mystic Rosalie said. "Mystic Pearl never leaves Kurain unless she's with Mystic Maya and Mr. Wright. She's far too young to be going out on her own."

"Do you have any evidence to back up these claims?" Edgeworth asked.

"Um, hello? I'm her _sister?_" Pearl said. "I think I'd know if she left California."

"Er...right," Edgeworth said. "In other words, you have no proof. Accordingly, the prosecution requests that this claim be dismissed."

The Judge shook his head. "Sorry, Mr. Edgeworth. Once again, I feel inclined to agree with the defense. She probably knows more about her client than anyone."

"All right!" Pearl said, giving Mia a high-five. "That's two for us, and zero for old ruffle-head over there!"

"Have you completely forgotten everything I said about acting professionally?" Mia asked.

"No. You said being professional is Edgeworth's strong point, so I'm throwing him off by acting unprofessionally."

"That's...not a bad idea," Mia said.

"Defense, is this the end of your cross-examination?" the Judge asked.

"I think those are all the contradictions," Pearl said. "We just proved that the person Maya got in a fight with wasn't her cousin Pearl. What else is there to prove?"

"The fact that Maya's still alive," Mia said.

"Not that _ridiculous_ theory again," Edgeworth said. "Need I remind you that many people saw Miss Fey's corpse? Including this witness here?"

"Mystic Rosalie? You saw Maya's dead body?"

Rosalie nodded. "Uh huh. It was pretty gruesome with all the blood everywhere."

"Then you can tell us if her clothes were ripped!" Pearl said. "We had a question about that earlier."

"No, they weren't ripped. Why?"

"AHA!" Pearl said. "That proves it! Mystic Maya wasn't stabbed!"

"Objection!" Edgeworth folded his arms across his chest. "Fine. Let's pretend you're right, and Maya Fey wasn't stabbed. _What difference does that make?"_

"Difference?"

"The fact remains that Maya Fey was found dead, lying in a large pool of blood," Edgeworth said. "Whether she was stabbed or not is irrelevant to the case. The particular method of death will be confirmed only _after_ we find the body and have a proper autopsy performed."

"That won't happen," Pearl said. "The defense suggests that the reason no one can find Maya's body is because she was kidnapped and taken to Oregon."

"Then how do you explain the fact that her dead body was seen by many people?" Edgeworth asked.

"It's a fake," Pearl said. "Which is why the culprit got rid of it before Detective Gumshoe arrived. The culprit knew the fake cadaver would be discovered if an autopsy was performed."

"True," the Judge said. "Our autopsy team is quite good at dealing with dead bodies. They've performed a number of autopsies over the years."

"Just out of curiosity, how many autopsies have they performed on dead people?" Pearl asked.

"Why, _all_ autopsies are performed on dead people, Miss Fey!" the Judge said. "I thought you would know that!"

".....Right..." Pearl said. "Anyway, that's what the defense is saying. If the prosecution has any evidence which will disprove us, they'd better show it now."

"Objection!" Edgeworth said. "The burden of proof is on the defense, not the prosecution! Do you have a single shred of evidence to support your claims?"

"Try not to think what shows Maya is still alive," Mia suggested. "Try to think what's happening _because_ Maya is still alive!"

_Could she be any more vague?_ Pearl wondered.

"I...I...but there's no proof anywhere!" Pearl said.

Edgeworth grinned.

"Pearl!" Mia said.

"Right...professional..." Pearl muttered. She cleared her throat and stood up straight. "The defense has no evidence at this time, Your Honor, but the Prosecution doesn't either. Maybe..._that's_ our proof?"

"What do you mean?" the Judge asked.

"There is no solid evidence tying our defendant—or anyone else, for that matter—to the crime. There is no autopsy report, no murder weapon, and no corpse."

_Things we don't have because Maya is still alive!_ Pearl realized. _Mia wasn't being vague, after all!_

"It would therefore be impossible to convict my client now," Pearl concluded.

"Mr. Edgeworth? Your thoughts?" the Judge asked.

"The prosecution has no meaningful objections to make at this time," Edgeworth said.

"I see," the Judge said, thinking hard. "In that case, it is clear we need more evidence before anyone can be exonerated or incarcerated."

_When did the Judge learn such big words?_ Pearl wondered.

"This trial is hereby postponed until tomorrow," the Judge said, banging his gavel. "Let us hope that the police are able to uncover any new information by then. Case dismissed!"

* * *

"We did it!" Pearl said.

"Pearl isn't safe yet," Mia said. "You're probably in for another hard trial tomorrow."

"Nah," Pearl said. "I'm sure Nick will be able to find Maya soon. All the information we uncovered will speed up the search a lot."

"You should prepare your defense, just in case," Mia advised. "In the meantime..."

"I know. I should check in with you every half-hour in case Maya summons you. That way, you'll be able to tell us where she is."

Mia nodded. "If she's in as much trouble as I think she is, she'll definitely summon me for help."

"I'll do that," Pearl said. "Thanks for all your help today."

"You'll make a great lawyer someday," Mia said. "Just try to keep in mind what I said about acting seriously, okay?"

"_Okay,_" Pearl said.

"Goodbye," Mia said. Then she left Younger Pearl's body.

The two Pearls briefly discussed what happened in the trial before Younger Pearl was taken back into custody. Because she was still a murder suspect, she wasn't allowed out on bail, which both Pearls thought was massively unfair.

Older Pearl was about to leave the courthouse so she could go to the train station when Edgeworth stepped in the way.

"Fey," Edgeworth said, looking serious. "I have a question for you."

"What is it?" Pearl asked, trying to look innocent.

"Are you really Pearl Fey's older sister?"

"Ack!' Pearl said. "I mean, yes! Of course I am! Why would you think otherwise?"

"No sane parents would give their daughters the same name," Edgeworth said. "And the witness from Kurain recognized Mia, but not you."

"Uh...Mia's more popular than I am?"

"Further, she said Pearl never leaves Kurain except to be with Maya and Wright," Edgeworth said. "Why is it that she didn't mention you? Could it be that your sister never visits you?"

"Maybe Mystic Rosalie just forgot," Pearl said.

"I doubt that. Rather, it seems like you popped into existence a few months ago," Edgeworth said. "Care to elaborate?"

Pearl sighed. "Yes, there's something strange about me, Mr. Edgeworth, but you'd never believe me if I told you what it is."

"I see," Edgeworth said. "I suppose it was hoping too much to think you would tell me outright. Farewell, Miss Fey."

Edgeworth left.

* * *

Naturally, Pearl caught the first train to Kurain, where she met up with Phoenix to inform him about the trial.

"I think I know where to find Maya now," Pearl said. "Someone kidnapped her and took her to Oregon."

"Oregon?"

"Mystic Rosalie gave testimony today. She heard Maya yelling about how she refused to go to Oregon. That was right before Maya disappeared, so it stands to reason that whoever kidnapped her took her to Oregon."

"That makes sense," said Phoenix. "Except for the whole part about someone wanting to take her up north. Why would anyone want to take her there?"

Pearl's face fell. "I was kind of hoping you would have an idea..." she said.

Phoenix reviewed the list he made of anyone and everyone who could possibly have a motive for doing something bad to Maya.

"Nobody on the list is from out of state," Phoenix said. "Except for Franziska von Karma, and she...wait. Wait!"

"What is it?" Pearl asked excitedly.

"Do you think it could be that Maya said...?"

* * *

_The Day Before..._

"No, I'm staying here in Kurain! I'm not going to go anywhere with you, Aunt Morgan!" Maya said.

Morgan Fey scowled. This argument was going nowhere, and if Maya raised her voice any louder, someone might come to investigate. Morgan quickly took out her spirit severing stick and used it against Maya.

There was a loud sound as the stick hit against Maya's skull, and another loud sound as Maya's body fell to the ground, unconscious.

Outside, the passing Mystic Rosalie thought that Maya had slammed the door behind her, and she hurried her pace down the hallway. Dealing with an angry Maya was not high on Rosalie's to-do list.


	14. Inside the Caves

Maya was dreaming that she was back in Phoenix's apartment, and they were watching their Friday Night Movie. She snuggled up next to Phoenix, hugging him under the blanket.

"You're so soft, Nick," she said. "You make a perfect pillow."

"And you make the perfect blanky," Phoenix said. "Soft, cute little Maya..."

Phoenix tickled her side, and she giggled.

"Cut that out, Nick!" she protested.

"Sorry," he said. "I just like seeing you smile."

"I always smile when I'm with you. I love you, Nick."

"I love you, too, Maya."

And Phoenix brought his face down to hers and kissed her gently.

And she kissed him back, and he kissed _her_ back, and she kissed _him_ back, and it wasn't long until the two of them completely forgot about the movie.

It was a perfect night, until...

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a voice sneered.

Maya sat up suddenly. Standing inside the apartment was Dahlia Hawthorne.

"You two are looking far too _alive_ for my tastes," Dahlia said.

"No! I won't let you hurt Maya!" Phoenix said bravely.

"Nick!" Maya cried.

Dahlia reached out and twisted Phoenix's arm around. It broke with a loud _Snap!_, and he collapsed to the ground.

Dahlia pulled out a knife and bent down to slit Phoenix's throat.

"No!" Pearl cried, appearing from out of nowhere and jumping at Dahlia.

Without even looking at Pearl, Dahlia threw her arm out and plunged the knife deep into her chest. She staggered backwards and collapsed.

"No!" Maya screamed. "No!"

"You don't deserve to be happy," Dahlia said. "You weak, pathetic, useless girl. No one will ever love you."

"That's not true!" Maya said. "Nick—!"

Dahlia brought her foot down on Phoenix's body, crushing his lungs. "He's dead...and you're next!"

Dahlia grinned evilly as she approached Maya, her hands ready to choke her neck, and...

Maya awoke with a start.

Unfortunately, real life was not much better than her nightmare.

"You're awake," Morgan said. "It's about time. It's nearly noon. Time for a delicious lunch."

Maya glared angrily at her aunt. It was all she could do. Morgan had tied Maya's arms down to her sides to prevent her from escaping over the night.

"No lunch, then? Suit yourself," Morgan said.

Maya's stomach grumbled in protest against not being fed in over a day.

"So that's it?" she demanded. "That's your evil plan? Tease me with food as you let me starve to death?"

"No," Morgan Fey said. "You'll get food as soon as you agree to leave Kurain and never come back."

"I'd rather starve."

"Fine. Either way, I'll get what I want."

"People are going to come looking for me, you know," Maya said.

"No, they won't," Morgan said. "Everyone thinks you're dead. They saw you lying on the road, covered in blood."

"Nick won't believe it," Maya said. "He'll come looking for me."

"Ah, yes, your young lawyer friend," Morgan said. "As I understand it, you spend most of your time with him, anyway. Why can't you be like your sister and move to LA permanently? I'm sure he'd let you move in with him. A shoddy lawyer like him needs all the help he can get."

"Don't you dare talk about Nick like that!" Maya said.

"Touchy..." Morgan Fey said. The truth was, she didn't like Phoenix Wright at all because he landed her in jail, but she didn't actively dislike him enough to want to get revenge.

Morgan was a careful criminal. There were some things she would not do, like get petty revenge or directly commit murder. Sure, she had been arrested on conspiracy of murder charges, but in both of her plots, someone _else_ was the one who actually did the deed.

That was why she had merely kidnapped Maya. Morgan couldn't see herself killing her niece outright. Letting Maya starve to death was another matter. It wasn't _technically_ Morgan's fault if Maya chose to starve. She would get food the moment she agreed to leave Kurain forever.

"Nick will save me..." Maya muttered to herself. "He has to..."

* * *

Phoenix also had a dream about Maya. The two of them were working together at a very strange trial.

"The prosecution claims that the defense is in love with Maya Fey," the Judge said. "How does the defense plead?"

Maya looked strangely at Phoenix from the co-council seat.

"Not guilty, Your Honor."

"Objection!" Pearl cried. Somehow, she was the prosecutor for the case. "The two of them are special someones! He told me so!"

"Do you have any proof?"

"I don't need proof! I'm a Prosecutor!"

"Of course," the Judge nodded. "You may now kiss the bride."

So Phoenix and Maya kissed, and somehow they got married, and it was three years later, and Maya was pregnant.

"I'll be the best mommy ever!" she said. "Mommy Maya! Mommy Maya! Mommy Maya!"

"We're having a baby?"

"Maybe even twins! We'll name them Mia and Maya Junior," she said happily.

"Can't we name a baby after _me?_" Phoenix protested.

"Fine, Mia, Maya Junior and Nicky. Now it's triplets!"

"Edgeworth is going to be so jealous!" Phoenix said. "Let's go skydiving!"

"Not while I'm _pregnant!"_ Maya said. "_You_ become pregnant. Then we'll go skydiving!"

"I'd rather get a puppy," Phoenix pouted.

I know it sounds odd, but Phoenix's dreams usually skipped around randomly like that. Eventually, however, Phoenix woke up when Pearl shook him awake.

"Maya? Did we get the puppy?" he asked.

"No, it's me, Pearl," Pearl said. "I'm back!"

Phoenix yawned and sat up. He had fallen asleep at a desk he was sitting at, instead of falling asleep in a bed.

"Woah!" Pearl said. "No offense, but you look awful, Nick! Did you get any sleep last night?"

"No," Phoenix said. "I've been up the whole time."

"That explains why you're sleeping in the afternoon," Pearl said. "What's this about a puppy?"

"I dreamed that Maya and I had a puppy and..." Phoenix shook his head. "Never mind."

"You were dreaming about her?" Pearl said. "That's so _cute!_ See, I told you she's your special someone!"

Phoenix rubbed his eyes. "I'm going to go freshen up," he said. "See you in a bit."

* * *

Maya had no way to fight her aunt except through the power of words (or possibly summoning an angry sumo wrestler).

"You're so evil," Maya said. "It's amazing that Pearl ended up being a decent person."

"I'm good at raising children," Morgan said. "I raised _you_, after all, you ungrateful brat. Why can't you show some gratitude and do what I ask?"

"Good at raising children, huh? What happened to Dahlia and Iris?"

"They weren't useful to me, so I let them go. Just like your own precious mother did. How old were you when she abandoned you? Two?"

Maya ignored the jab at her mother. "Anyone could tell that Dahlia's your daughter," Maya said. "She's evil, just like you."

"I am...not responsible for how Dahlia turned out," Morgan said. "If anyone is, it's the Hawthornes."

Maya didn't miss the brief pause in Morgan's sentence. Was her aunt afraid of Dahlia? Maybe she could use that to her advantage. Desperate times call for desperate measures, after all.

Maya closed her eyes and summoned Dahlia's spirit once more.

* * *

Phoenix called up the file he wrote on his computer.

"Morgan Fey," he read. "Evil, manipulative, schemer with a vested interest in killing Maya."

"And my mom," Pearl said. "Go easy on the insults."

"Will do," Phoenix conceded. "According to the email Gumshoe sent me, she was let out of jail last month when her sentence ended. Apparently, assisting with a murder gets you less jail time than committing murder."

"That's why Sister Iris was let out of jail, right?" Pearl asked.

"Right," Phoenix said. "That and I, uh, kind of helped speed up the process a bit."

Pearl frowned. "Forget Iris, Nick! Maya is the one you love!"

"And she's probably going to die if we don't find her soon..." Phoenix said, gloomily. "Did anything like this happen in your timeline?"

Pearl thought for a moment. "No. By the time my mom came back to Kurain, Maya was having major depression problems."

"Why?"

"Why? Because you totally abandoned her to become a drunken hobo, that's why! Anyway, Maya wasn't suited to run a village while she was dealing with those problems, so they asked Mom to resume control over Kurain."

"That doesn't help us much," Phoenix said. "Do you have _any_ idea where your mom would have taken Maya?"

"No," Pearl said. "But even if I did, they probably wouldn't be there, right? If you kidnap someone, you take her where no one would think to look."

"Great," Phoenix said, dejectedly. "So we have no idea where they could be, not to mention no solid proof that Morgan Fey _did_ kidnap Maya. It _could_ be someone else."

"Don't feel bad! Mia said she'd help!"

"But...Mia is...dead."

"Exactly! If Maya summons Mia, Mia will be able to tell us where she is!"

Phoenix scratched his head. "It's a long shot, but it's probably our best chance right now. Summon Mia, and I'll see."

* * *

The ropes on Maya's arms fell off when she summoned Dahlia.

Dahlia was confused. She didn't like being confused (or pretty much anything else, actually).

"What? I—you," Dahlia said. "What is it? You want me to help with another one of your ridiculous schemes? Forget it."

Morgan was shocked. What the hell was Maya thinking? Summoning Dahlia for no reason?

"I...I didn't..."

"I told you before, I don't care about putting your daughter in charge of your stupid podunk village," Dahlia said. "Besides, your last plan was a total failure. Why don't you just give up?"

"I...Pearl...you..."

Morgan was more flustered than she should have been. Almost as if...

"Something's wrong," Dahlia realized. "You didn't want to talk to me. Then why did you—who summoned me?"

"Maya Fey," Morgan said.

"Liar," Dahlia said. "She'd never summon me again. What are you hiding? What are you up to?"

"Nothing! Nothing that concerns you, spirit. Go back to where you came from."

Dahlia picked up one of the ropes from the ground. "Tried to tie me up, huh? Too bad that didn't work. Did you want to torture me or something?"

"I was holding Maya Fey captive!"

"Whatever. I'm out of here. Hopefully, I'll never have to see you again," Dahlia said, walking towards the cave's exit.

"I cannot let you go," Morgan said, stepping in her way. "Not as long as you're in Maya's body."

"Nobody can tell me what to do," Dahlia said. "Move."

_I need my Spirit Severing Stick,_ Morgan thought.

Dahlia punched Morgan hard enough to make her fall over. Morgan scrambled over to her makeshift fireplace and grabbed a large tree branch. It wasn't a Spirit Severing Stick, but it would have to do.

"You're going to fight me?" Dahlia asked. "You're crazy! You can't kill someone who's already dead!"

Morgan began chanting the appropriate incantations under her breath.

Dahlia ran out of the cave. Morgan followed, swinging the branch wildly.

"Leave me alone, you crazy—!"

_::Pwarch!::_

The branch smashed against Dahlia's head.

Dahlia rolled her head around her neck and shot Morgan a Death Glare. "That does it. You're dead."

Dahlia lunged at her mother, but the Spirit Severing took effect. Against her will, Dahlia left Maya's body.

"What? Nooooo!"

The first thing Maya felt was pain coming from the side of her head. Then she noticed she was outside in the forest. Did she escape?

"You're coming back with me," Morgan Fey said, brandishing her makeshift weapon.

No. She didn't escape. Darn.

Morgan led Maya back to the cave. This time, Maya was able to see where they were, and she gasped.

They were at the caves in the National Park. The ones that everyone said to never, ever, _ever_ go near, because the maze inside was impossible to navigate. Even Park Rangers never went inside without trailing a string behind them so they could find the entrance again.

They used to give tours of the cave mazes until two years ago, when some kids got lost on the tour. Their bodies were found a month later.

Not a very nice place to be kidnapped. If she tried escaping, the odds were 1 to 1000 that she'd get lost and die in the caves.

Then again, if she _didn't_ try escaping, the odds were 1 to 1 that she'd starve to death anyway.

Maya made a split-second decision and ran to the back of the cave.

"Catch me if you can!" she called.

"Fool!" Morgan said, giving chase.

_If I only take right turns, I should be able to find my way out again...right?_ Maya thought. She quickly plunged into the maze and made three turns.

"I don't have to follow you! This is the only exit!" Morgan called after her. "They blocked off all the others to prevent people from accidentally wandering in the maze!"

_They did?_

_...Crap. I guess that means I should go back. Good thing I didn't get far. I just need to turn around and..._

_Wait, I take a left here...right? Left?_

She was already lost.

* * *

Maya wandered through the caves for about fifteen minutes before deciding to give up. She'd just get more lost.

Plus, the caves were starting to get dark and scary.

It was then that Maya made the decision that ended up saving her life.

She wrote a description of what had happened in the dirt on the ground, then summoned her sister Mia.

* * *

Mia relayed the message to Phoenix and Pearl. Phoenix immediately wanted to go to the caves to find Maya, but Pearl was more sensible. She made Phoenix wait until Gumshoe could go with them so they could catch Morgan Fey red-handed.

Needless to say, Morgan was not expecting a police raid in the cave entrance, and she did not have time to get rid of any of the incriminating evidence, like the large fake blood stains. She was arrested on the spot.

"You're coming with me, Pal," Gumshoe said angrily.

Morgan went quietly, comforting herself with the fact that her plan to secure Pearl's position as Kurain Master worked. With Maya in the caves, she was as good as dead.

Phoenix disagreed. "Now that we know where she is, we'll find Maya easily," he said confidently.

* * *

Two days later, Phoenix was much less confident.

"Are you _sure_ she only wandered through the caves for fifteen minutes?" he asked Mia for the fifth time.

"That's what she wrote," Mia said.

"And you don't recognize any of these caves?"

"They all look the same," Mia said. "If it wasn't for the string, we'd be lost, too."

Phoenix was, of course, trailing a string behind him so he could make his way back to the entrance.

He sighed and made a large X over one of the caves on the map. "Come on, let's go back. She's not here."

"I'm sorry, Phoenix," Mia said. "I'll go and see if she has anything new to say. She hasn't summoned me in a while."

Mia left, and Pearl regained control of her body.

"Did you find—?"

"No."

"Don't feel bad, Nick! You'll find Maya! Love always wins!"

"I'm not sure loving Maya will be enough..."

"Aw, see! You admitted it! You love her!"

"No, I'm wasting all my time trying to find someone I hate," Phoenix said sarcastically. "Of course I love her!"

"You're a real jerk when you're grumpy, but that's okay, because it's _true love!!!"_ Pearl said. "You just need to use it to help you find Maya!"

"How is love going to help me find Maya?" Phoenix asked.

"Duh, you're her special someone, so you know more about her than anyone else. What does she like?"

"She likes...eating hamburgers and watching children's shows. A lot. That's not going to help us find her."

"Maybe it can!"

"What?" Phoenix asked. "_I haven't slept in two days because Maya's missing, and you had an idea of how to find her all along?!"_

"Woah! Calm down! I don't have any ideas!" Pearl said, a little scared at how angry Phoenix was.

"Oh," Phoenix said. "I guess thinking the Steel Samurai could help us find Maya was a dead end, anyway. What we need is about a hundred more people to search every cave. Either that, or figure out some way to get Maya to come to _us_ instead of us looking for her."

"We can't get her to come to us," Pearl said. "We don't know where she is."

"Yes, but maybe we could...never mind."

"What?"

Phoenix rubbed his forehead. "Okay, this is a stupid idea but what if we got a really huge speaker system set up at the first cave and started playing the Steel Samurai theme song as loudly as possible? Maya would be sure to hear it, and she could find the entrance by following where the music is loudest."

"You're right!"

"I am? You think it'd work?"

"No, I mean, you're right—that's a stupid idea. I mean, unless you have a speaker system nearby that doesn't run on electricity. And a CD of nothing but Steel Samurai music."

"It was just an idea," Phoenix said. "Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"It doesn't have to be a CD, right?" Phoenix said, pulling out his cell phone. "I think it's time for me to get a new ringtone."

* * *

Maya shivered on the ground. She hadn't summoned Mia in over half a day because she was too tired.

_What is this? Day Four without any food?_

_I wonder how much longer it'll be until I die._

_I hope it's soon. I'm tired of waiting. And besides, once I'm dead, Pearl can summon me, and I'll be able to see Nick again..._

Maya missed a lot of things—sunlight, food, her family, but she missed Phoenix the most. Moving back to Kurain without him was a bad idea, and knowing he was so close but not being able to see him was probably killing her faster than the starvation was.

_I can practically hear the angels coming to take my soul away. It sounds like they're singing the Steel Samurai theme song..._

Maya's eyes opened.

Wait, that _was_ the Steel Samurai theme song.

_What the—?_

Maya somehow found the strength to get up. She stumbled towards the music...

* * *

"I'm getting sick of hearing that song," Pearl complained.

"Shouting into the caves in order to get her attention didn't work," Phoenix said. "This might work."

Phoenix and Pearl were still searching the caves one by one, but now he had his cell phone connected to a megaphone. The Steel Samurai theme song was constantly playing.

Maya quickened her pace. The music was closer.

"We should have stolen some heat-tracking equipment from the police and tried using it instead," Pearl said. "That song will be stuck in my head for weeks now."

"They don't _have_ any heat-tracking devices at the police department. The most high-tech thing they have there is a fishing pole."

Maya could hear voices now. Pearl and...

_"Nick!"_

There was a flash of purple as Maya ran straight into Phoenix like a guided missile and shoved her mouth against his.

"Mmmmph!" Phoenix said.

"I knew you'd find me! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" Maya said. "Oh, I love you, I love you, I love you!"

Then she shoved her mouth against Phoenix's again.

Phoenix broke off the kiss. "Maya, you're alive! You—you—I love—!"

He brought his mouth against hers in a manner oddly similar to the Deep Kiss Training taught at Hazakura.

Pearl fainted.

* * *

_Two Days Later  
Wright & Fey Law Offices  
Big Party_

"Do these fools _have_ to throw a party every time they win in court?" Franziska asked Edgeworth. "More importantly, do they have to invite _us?_"

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Edgeworth said.

"And miss celebrating your defeat? Never."

"It's not a defeat," Edgeworth said. "The defendant was genuinely innocent. It's no surprise that her old sel—_sister_ was able to get a not guilty verdict."

Pearl had told Edgeworth the truth about where she came from shortly after the trial ended. It was safer to have Edgeworth in on the secret than it was to have him snooping around in her life.

"Fool," Franziska said. "Had _I_ been the prosecutor, she would be in jail right now."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing you weren't the prosecutor, then."

In another part of the office, Sister Iris was talking with the two Pearls.

"I'm very glad for both of you," Sister Iris said. "I know we haven't talked a lot, and we kind of got off on the wrong foot, but I have a feeling we're going to be great friends."

"Me too!" Little Pearl said.

Pearl nodded. "You're our half-sister," she said. "Welcome to the Fey Family!"

"And now that I'm moving to Kurain to take over for Maya, we can get to know each other a lot better," Iris said. "I can't believe she gave up the leadership of Kurain to me!"

Pearl shrugged. "You're the oldest Fey besides Maya, so you were next in line anyway."

"It was still a real honor," Iris said. "I should thank her again. Where is she, anyway?"

Little Pearl smiled. "She's with Mister Nick! They're special someones!"

"They're over by the TV," Pearl said. "They've been spending a lot of time there lately."

Iris looked and saw that Phoenix and Maya were watching the Steel Samurai together. They kissed every time the theme music played.

"They _do_ make a sweet couple," Iris admitted.

Pearl smiled. Nick wasn't a hobo, and now he was dating Maya. She really _had_ saved the future.

**The End**


End file.
